Overview
Drug user unions are peer-led groups that advocate for those who either use substances actively or used to struggle with substance use disorders to improve access to healthcare, overall quality of life, and civil and human rights.
History and Etymology
One of the first formal drug user union was Junkiebond in Rotterdam, Netherlands as a response in 1977 to the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis and police harassment among substance users. In 1981, they launched the world’s first official peer-led syringe exchange program.
In 1997, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) was launched and became a template for organizing supervised injection sites in 2003 through InSite, North America’s first. This was quickly followed by Landesverband der Junkie-Selbsthilfen (National Junkie Union) in 1998 in Germany.
In America, the National Survivors Union (NSU) and the San Francisco Drug Users Union advocate for clinical reforms and safe consumption sites. Many modern unions have advocated for a regulate supply of pharmaceutical-grade substances to reduce the overdoses caused by drugs from illicit manufacturing which may have contaminants that users aren’t aware of. These “safe supply” laws are obviously controversial, although many studies have suggested they could be a valuable part of harm reduction packages.
A common slogan these unions adopt is “Nothing About Us Without Us,” which addresses the objectification of those with a history or pattern of substance use into “addicts” who must be evaluated, monitored, and regulated by institutional authorities. Instead, they argue that substance users and their lived experiences should be at the forefront of public health policy interventions.