The Hardest Drug? Trends in Heroin Use in Britain

Seddon, Toby; Simpson, Melanie; Shildrick, Tracy; Macdonald, Roderick

doi:10.1007/978-1-137-12445-6_4

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Here the state is empowered to employ various means to 'track down drug users and lock them up if they do not comply' to undergo a period of drug treatment (Hunt and Stevens, 2004: 355). Seddon (2007) has commented on the ethical implications of coercing people into treatment, particularly if these services are delivered in part by the National Health Service (NHS). This process, he suggests, calls into question principles of patient consent and confidentiality which are the foundation stones on which treatment services have traditionally operated.…”

Section: New Labour's Early Drug Strategy and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Recent Evolution of UK Drug Strategies: From Maintenance to Behaviour Change?

Monaghan¹

2012

PPP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Politically, the idea that certain kinds of drugs and drug use are intrinsically linked to certain kinds of criminality -known as the drugs-crime nexus -enjoys continuing salience. This shows little sign of abating. Since 1995, successive strategies have embraced this theme and policies have been developed to try and increase the numbers of drug users entering treatment in a bid to drive down crime rates. Drawing on a review of the relevant literature and an analysis of successive drug strategies and related policy documents, this paper argues that although contemporary drug policy is still underpinned by such notions the suggested means by which crime rates are to be reduced is gradually shifting. Since 2008, there has been a notable change in rhetoric with an increasing use of conditionality in the benefits system coupled with an overt desire to 'nudge' those engaging in risky behaviours to amend their ways. This seems to be related to a steady disillusionment with methadone maintenance treatment and a desire to solve the drug-crime problem by promoting the goal of 'abstinence'. More recently, abstinence has been replaced by the less well-defined term 'recovery', but both signal a desire for drug treatment to move away from maintenance. This paper argues that such developments are part of a creeping moralisation that has reemerged in UK social policy over recent decades.

show abstract

Section: New Labour's Early Drug Strategy and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Recent Evolution of UK Drug Strategies: From Maintenance to Behaviour Change?

Monaghan¹

2012

PPP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…After the opiate had hitherto been consumed intravenously, in the late 1970s, the fi rst cheap smokable heroin became available in many towns and cities in England and Scotland. For the fi rst time, heroin use spread beyond the limits of London (Seddon 2007 ) .…”

Section: The British Heroin Trendmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chein et al 1964 ) . In Merseyside, the new heroin users were mainly aged between 16 and 24 (Parker et al 1987 ) , 1% is reported to have been below 16 (Seddon 2007 ) . The new heroin users were younger than those of the preceding generation.…”

Section: The British Heroin Trendmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the mid-1990s, the appearance of crack alongside heroin is also documented (Brain et al 1998 ) , leading policymakers to become seriously concerned about the heroin and the crack problem by the late 1990s (Seddon 2007 ) . This second wave of substantially increased heroin use has been associated with the foregone rave era that effected a relative 'normalisation' of illicit drug use (cf.…”

Section: Chapter 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2.8 ). Seddon ( 2007 ) speaks of a 'second wave of heroin outbreaks' in the mid-1990s that had reached a serious extent by the late 1990s (p. 239). Thus, Shetland was presumably affected only by the second wave with, compared to the rest of Britain, a delay of effectively about 5-8 years.…”

Section: Chapter 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations