Drugs, Deprivation, and Ethnicity: Outreach among Asian Drug Users in a Northern English City

Abstract

One consistent theme within public debates on the problem of drug misuse is its association with minority ethnic groups (Pearson 1995b). It is, nevertheless, a peculiar feature of the British drug scene that members of black and other minority groups have been significantly underrepresented among known populations of problem drug users. This despite the fact that there has been clear evidence since the early 1980s of a concentration of the most serious drug-related problems in areas of high unemployment and social deprivation, and that ethnic minorities in Britain experience a high degree of social exclusion in terms of poverty, housing deprivation, educational disadvantage, and discrimination in the labor force (Jones 1996). It is entirely possible, of course, that drug users from Britain's black communities are more likely to remain unknown to service agencies—reflecting other aspects of disadvantage in access to health care (Awiah et al. 1992). In what continues to be a rapidly changing drug scene in Britain, this paper sets out to review this perplexing area of drugs, deprivation, and ethnic minority status, while also presenting evidence in Part II from an outreach project among Asian drug injectors in the city of Bradford in the north of England.

Analysing Drug Abuse with British Crime Survey Data: Modelling and Questionnaire Design Issues

“…There is a widely-held public perception of a high rate of drug abuse among young blacks, but the evidence here is to the contrary. Drug abuse is especially uncommon among the Asian community relative to whites (see Pearson and Patel (1998) for con…rmation and discussion of this result). However, there is one widespread belief that does receive some support from these …ndings.…”

Drug Trafficking and Ethnic Minorities in Western Europe

“…However, this undifferentiated assessment is increasingly being questioned in several European countries. Not only has cannabis use turned out to be widespread and socially accepted in many North African and Asian communities, but the official, low prevalence of heroin use has come to be seen as at least partially associated with the inability of European drug treatment centres and researchers to get into contact with migrant drug users (Pearson and Patel 1998;Fountain et al 2002). Drug addiction and injecting are still highly stigmatized in most immigrant communities.…”

Drug Treatment Services for Ethnic Communities in Victoria, Australia: An examination of cultural and institutional barriers

“…30,49,53 However, a number of drug services is viewed as remote and inaccessible by ethnic communities as a result of too few appropriate staff trained in cross-cultural issues. 3,14,32,54 While many drug treatment professionals lack knowledge of, or had little af nity with, ethnic communities, these concerns could be addressed if treatment staff adopted interactive styles re ective of the cultural values of ethnic groups in the community. 6,42 As reported by Finn, treatment services have a moral obligation to enlighten themselves to the life experiences of disadvantaged groups among which many ethnic communities are included.…”

“…Measuring the actual extent of illicit drug use in ethnic communities is dif cult; the quality of statistical data collected by drug treatment services is inadequate to draw meaningful conclusions. [1][2][3][4] Examination of the minimal data available reveals admission rates of individuals from ethnic communities into drug treatment services are low. [4][5][6] However, this is more likely a re ection of under-utilisation of the services by ethnic communities rather than a lower need for such services.…”