Harm Reduction as a Citizenship Movement: The Case of Hoog Catharijne, Utrecht (1973–2001)

Abstract

Although most drug users are citizens on paper, they are not always regarded as full members of the community in practice. Looking at a semiopen drug scene in and around the Hoog Catharijne shopping mall (Utrecht, the Netherlands), I trace how the citizenship of drug users developed in the period 1973–2001. Over time, interventions linked to the idea of harm reduction—aiming to mitigate the harm caused by drug use without necessarily prohibiting drugs—increased the degree to which drug users were seen as full citizens. Therefore, this article addresses the question, Was harm reduction a citizenship movement?