A recent study on the harm reduction drug Nalmafene, that researchers claim allows alcoholics to reduce their drinking by as much as a third, has me thinking about the relative merits of harm reduction versus abstinence as theories of recovery. This new drug has showed an ability to reduce quantities consumed, but alcoholics using the drug still drank to excess once in every three days. Is harm reduction as a treatment framework acceptable, and should we be satisfied with any treatment philosophy that does not solve the destruction caused by drug or alcohol addiction, and only reduces it?