UK Drugs Unlimited : New Research and Policy Lessons on Illicit Drug Use

by Edited by Howard Parker, Judith Aldridge and Roy Egginton

• ISBN13: 9780333918173
• ISBN10: 0333918177
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2001-08-11
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book describes the diverse nature of contemporary drug use in Britain, from club kids to addicts. It investigates why current drug policy is floundering.

Author Biography

Howard Parker is Professor and Director of the Social Policy and Research Center. Judith Aldridge is Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy, and Roy Egginton is Social Researcher, all at the University of Manchester.

Table of Contents

List of tables	viii
List of figures	x
Acknowledgements	xi
Notes on the contributors	xii
Glossary	xiv
Introduction	xv
Unbelievable? The UK's Drugs Present	1	(13)
Howard Parker
Purpose	1	(1)
The comparative picture	2	(2)
The UK's first heroin `cycle'	4	(4)
The 1990s and the normalisation of recreational drug use	8	(2)
Waging war on drugs together	10	(1)
New Labour's drugs strategy (1998--2008)	10	(2)
Conclusion	12	(2)
Unenforceable? How Young Britons Obtain Their Drugs	14	(17)
Howard Parker
Purpose	14	(1)
Strong supply and availability	15	(1)
Methods	16	(2)
Adolescent recreational drug users	18	(6)
The dance club-dance drug scene	24	(1)
Dependent on drugs, dependent on dealers	25	(2)
Conclusions	27	(4)
Unconventional? Adolescent Drug Triers and Users in England	31	(20)
Roy Egginton
Judith Aldridge
Howard Parker
Purpose	31	(1)
Introduction	32	(1)
Method	32	(1)
Alcohol and tobacco use	33	(1)
Young people's access to drugs	34	(1)
Trying illicit drugs	35	(4)
Past month use	39	(2)
Distinguishing drug triers from users	41	(3)
Regular drug use	44	(2)
Comparing age cohorts	46	(1)
Unconventional? Risk and deviance factor analysis	46	(2)
Conclusion	48	(3)
Unpreventable? How Young People Make and Remake Drug Taking Decisions	51	(29)
Jon Breeze
Judith Aldridge
Howard Parker
Purpose	51	(1)
Introduction: drugwise youth	52	(3)
The qualitative methods	55	(2)
New social rites	57	(2)
Abstainers' journeys	59	(4)
Drug triers	63	(8)
Becoming drug users	71	(5)
Becoming a problem drug user	76	(2)
Conclusion	78	(2)
Unstoppable? Dance Drug Use in the UK Club Scene	80	(18)
Fiona Measham
Judith Aldridge
Howard Parker
Purpose	80	(1)
The going out, time out population	81	(1)
Profiles of the clubbing population	81	(2)
The nightclub fieldwork	83	(3)
The clubbers' nights out	86	(3)
The cost of clubbing	89	(3)
Pathways to regular dance drug use	92	(1)
Discussion	93	(5)
Unreachable? The New Young Heroin Users	98	(30)
Howard Parker
Roy Egginton
Nicola Elson
Purpose	98	(1)
Introduction	99	(1)
Attempting to monitor new heroin spread	99	(2)
Accessing `hidden' young heroin users	101	(2)
Demographic characteristics of the young heroin users	103	(1)
The social exclusion, `at risk' measures	103	(3)
Smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol and trying and use of illicit drugs	106	(2)
Damaged childhoods and adolescence?	108	(1)
Heroin careers: initiation, evolution and current use status	109	(2)
The Consequences and costs of heroin dependency	111	(6)
Problems with personal health	117	(6)
Reaching out and early interventions	123	(3)
Conclusion	126	(2)
Untreatable? Hidden Crack Cocaine and Poly Drug Users	128	(22)
Kevin Brain
Howard Parker
Tim Bottomley
Purpose	128	(1)
Crack cocaine prevalence in the UK	129	(1)
Challenging methods	130	(1)
Evolving crack careers	131	(5)
Rock repertoires, drug bills and drug crime connections	136	(4)
Contemplating and affecting `reform'	140	(3)
New recruits and new crack careers---continuity and change	143	(3)
New pathways into crack cocaine careers	146	(1)
Discussion	147	(3)
Unpredictable? Britain's Drugs Futures	150	(21)
Howard Parker
Judith Aldridge
Roy Egginton
Purpose	150	(1)
The forces of conservatism	151	(2)
The fate of UK drugs strategy	153	(9)
The missing elements	162	(2)
Institutionalised dishonesty	164	(1)
Monitoring and managing UK drugs more effectively	165	(6)
Bibliography	171	(7)
Index	178