WHAT WE BELIEVE

HAMS explicitly rejects the notion that excessive drinking or drug use is a disease. HAMS believes that people use drugs or alcohol as a matter of personal choice, and HAMS is all about empowering people to use alcohol or drugs in a safe and sane manner. HAMS does not accept the disease theory of alcoholism or addiction. HAMS does not believe in labeling people as alcoholics or addicts. Rather, we accept the concepts of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, and we believe that anyone can improve their use of alcohol or drugs regardless of how much they may be using. HAMS is a Harm Reduction approach totally unrelated to twelve step approaches.

HAMS is all about personal empowerment. YOU are in charge of your drinking or drug use. No one else.

THE SCOPE OF HAMS

HAMS is primarily about providing support for people who wish to reduce or eliminate the harm in their lives caused by the use of the "soft" drugs alcohol, marijuana, nicotine and/or caffeine. However, HAMS is open and welcoming to people who wish to reduce or eliminate the harm in their lives caused by any substance or any behavior.

HAMS has chosen to concentrate on the substances named above because of the paucity of any Harm Reduction support for them and also because these are the areas of expertise of the creators of HAMS.

Other organizations already provide excellent Harm Reduction information and support for users of "hard" drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, etc. HAMS maintains a listing of Harm Reduction support groups for people who use these drugs and who wish for more support than that which they find at HAMS.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The HAMS Harm Reduction Network would like to express its great debt of gratitude to the organizations and individuals who have gone on before us and helped to inspire us. These include The Harm Reduction Coalition, The Moderation Management Network Inc, Access Works, The Albert Ellis Institute, Stanton Peele, Audrey Kishline, Patt Denning, Jeannie Little, Adina Glickman, Alan Marlatt, Ken Ragge, Alex Deluca, Tamara Grams, Rae Eden Frank, Tommi Stevens, Beth Zeiler, Alissa Fountain, Jeffrey Schaler and many, many more.

However, our greatest debt of all is to those members of HAMS and MM who created their own programs which worked for them as individuals and who inspired the elements of the HAMS process. We could not have come into existence without you guys.

THE HAMS BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS