[New drug policies: the Geneva example]

As a consequence of the negative medical social effects of illicit drug use a certain number of countries, during the eighties, have chosen to rethink their therapeutical strategies which were mainly aimed at instoring rapid abstinence. Risk-reduction strategies are varied, including distribution of syringes, substitutive strategies and cultural modification of the drug-addicted representations. Such substantial modifications lead to reflections on both national and international legal systems.