Sacha Hertzog is a project officer at Fédération Addiction, a network of French organizations in the fiel of drugs and addiction . He is working on harm reduction projects (drug checking, cocaine, party settings or supervised consumption sites) as well as on international advocacy.

In France, the use of based cocaine has significantly increased, from 12,800 users in 2010 to 42,800 in 2019. At the same time, crack use has become a point of tension, particularly with the rise of open drug scenes in Paris and the ongoing stigmatization of crack users.

One of the key objectives of the AIPAUC project (Improving Information, Prevention, and Support of Cocaine Users) was to provide tools that support people who use cocaine, particularly through harm reduction strategies tailored to their needs and behaviors. These tools were developed through working groups that quickly identified the need for a simple video tutorial on how to base cocaine using both baking soda and ammonia. The aim was to demonstrate that basing cocaine with baking soda is not more complicated than using ammonia while also providing harm reduction information for those who still choose to base with ammonia. It is accompanied by a written document on supervised basing. Due to legal constraints, the video cannot be broadcasted online and has to serve as a tool for dialogue between harm reduction services and people who want to base cocaine.

The creation of this video showcases collaboration between national organizations, field workers, and people who use drugs. A working group composed of PWUD and harm reduction professionals developed the script, while the Fédération Addiction managed the logistics of producing the video. A local harm reduction service provided the space and identified someone to demonstrate the basing process. Furthermore, this project involved international cooperation, as Belgian services expressed a need for a similar video. Instead of producing two separate videos, both countries collaborated on a single project, benefiting from a larger budget.

The final product aims to reflect the needs of harm reduction workers and PWUD, while also securing government funding for the initiative.