Shelving, smoking, shooting, snorting, swallowing, and many other words that don’t begin with ‘s.’ There are nearly as many different ways to take drugs as there are nicknames to describe them. And if there’s one method guaranteed to gain controversy it’s injecting.

“I don’t/would never inject,” some people may say, even as they snort their way through a gram all to themselves or pick up their meth pipe for the sixth day in a row. But is injecting so bad? Does it matter how one takes ones drugs? The short answer to the first (in my opinion) is “not necessarily”, to the second, an unequivocal yes.

Let’s start with the easier bit first. Different methods of using drugs carry with them different levels of risk, and they change the effect a drug will have on the person using it. A good way to think about this is with a handy equation I just invented: If a method of taking a drug = effects that come on hard and fast then the effects will last for a shorter time and the risks associated will be higher.

This does not mean that any one way of taking drugs is ‘safe’ or that any other way is ‘dangerous’. What it does means, however, is that knowledge is our friend. If a person decides to take drugs, the best thing they can do to keep themselves safe is to make sure that they have all the accurate information they possibly can about what they’re going to take, how they’re going to take it, what they can expect to happen and what risks they need to be careful of.

Which brings us back to injecting. Many people associate injecting with addiction – the truth is that there are many people with addictions who don’t inject, and many people who inject that aren’t addicted. For others, it’s queasiness about blood, or a fear of needles. Those who do inject do so for a variety of reasons – including for the effect that is obtained or the perceived (or real) cost benefit.

In order to safely inject, a person requires a high level of knowledge, skill, attention to detail and hygiene. There is no denying that injecting carries with it significant risk. However, some of these risks can be increased by the fact that people who inject may feel – or actually be – ostracised as a result. Drug taking, by any method, that is done alone or in secret can often be a riskier business.

So what am I trying to say? I think that when it comes to drug taking, nothing is black and white – everyone has to make their own decisions regarding drug use. In order to stay safe and to look out for each other, though, we need to put stereotypes and assumptions aside and be armed with the latest and most accurate knowledge we can find.

(r)evolutionary is a former drug and alcohol counsellor in Perth, Western Australia.