About Us
The leading addictology network in France
With 850 health institutions and services and more than 500 individual members (doctors, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, etc.), the Fédération Addiction is the leading addictology network in France. It brings together structures and professionals in the fields of care, education, prevention, support and harm reduction, including
- 80% of the addiction centres in France (centres for care, support and prevention in addictology or CSAPA, and centres for reception and support in harm reduction for drug users or CAARUD);
- 11 therapeutic communities;
- 20% of addiction medical services (addiction liaison and care teams, follow-up and rehabilitation care, addiction consultations, health networks).
The Fédération Addiction is a member of the National Health Conference and of the narcotics commission of the French drug regulation agency. It is also a member of the consultative committee for social and medico-social services of the Haute Autorité de santé, of the monitoring and forecasting committee of the National Hepatitis Plan, of the national monitoring committee of the HIV/STD Plan and of the addictions working group of the National Agency for Research on AIDS and Hepatitis.
There is no such thing as a drug-free society: addictive behaviours are part of life. They are the result of the encounter between a person, a product and a particular context.
Developing appropriate responses for people
Addictions cannot be isolated from the social, cultural, political and economic context in which they occur. The ambition of the Fédération Addiction is to contribute to the development of responses adapted to the people concerned.
The Fédération works with its network and partners to decompartmentalise approaches and structures. Through its projects, it participates in the formalisation of a collective expertise resulting from field practices and based on the multiple dimensions of addiction rather than the fight against products. It promotes the recognition of users as citizens, the improvement of their quality of life and environment within a global offer of care and support.
By bringing together the actors in the field of addiction, the Fédération promotes mutual knowledge, exchange and expression.
Changing drug policies
Policies on drugs in France and throughout the world are largely based on repression: this choice does not make it possible to reduce harm associated with use, nor to reduce the circulation and consumption of narcotics. By pushing consumers to the margins of the law, it hinders the work of prevention and access to care by organisations and professionals.
On the strength of its members’ expertise and the numerous scientific studies on the issue, the Fédération Addiction is campaigning for a paradigm shift in the field of drugs:
- regulation of access to products and decriminalisation, that is neither laissez-faire nor prohibition, but based on the application of protective prohibitions, particularly for young people;
- early intervention programmes (before the addiction sets in) and harm reduction;
- prevention campaigns based on motivation, more effective than guilt-tripping;
- human and financial support for the existence of local addiction structures accessible to people.
The Fédération Addiction is a member of the Collectif pour une nouvelle politique des drogues and the Collectif national pour la santé des jeunes.
The Fédération Addiction at the international level
The Fédération Addiction is a member of the European Civil Society Forum on Drugs. The Forum brings together civil society actors from 28 member countries in an advisory body to the European Commission on EU drug policy.
The Fédération is the French focal point for the Correlation network (a European think-thank promoting better access to care for marginalised groups), and is a member of the International Drug Policy Consortium (a global platform of NGOs and professionals promoting an open and objective debate on drug policy at national and international level) and of NEWNet (Nightlife Empowerment and Well-being Network).
The Fédération Addiction is a member of the international committee of the TDO (Treatment of Opioid Dependence) conference and is involved in the French platform of NGOs for the representation of civil society at the United Nations.