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Drug Policy
Drug
policy and intervention has received an injection of Government
attention in recent year. Three key developments have been:
- The Updated Drugs Strategy 2002
- The National Treatment Agency and Models of Care for Drug Treatment
- Drug Intervention Programmes (DIP) (formerly known as CJIP, the
Criminal Justice Intervention Programme)
Updated
Drugs Strategy 2002
This strategy was written to build on the previous strategy published
in 1998: ‘Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain’.
It clearly focussed on class A drugs, education and prevention –
particularly in relation to young people’s use – as
well as committing money to more support services for parents, carers
and families. In addition it pledged to increase treatment services
and tackle the drug supply chain. It also recognised the increasing
amount of Crack and its impact on communities and announced the
introduction of a National Crack Plan. The strategy can be downloaded
from the ‘reports and publications’ section of the Government’s
drug website (see website list below). This drugs strategy runs to March 2008. The Home Office is seeking views on the next drug strategy through a document entitled “Drugs: Our Community, Your Say – A Consultation Paper”. It can be downloaded from the Home Office website, (http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/) under publications.
NTA
and Models of Care
The National Treatment Agency (NTA) is a special health authority
set up to improve availability and effectiveness of drug treatment
through examining the commissioning processes, the evidence base
for what works in drug treatment, and setting targets for performance
of commissioners and staff.
One
of its early policy documents was Models of Care for Drug Misusers
(2002). This document recommended that ‘treatment’ services
be split into four tiers of service. Tier 1 is where social services
sits alongside other non specialist drug treatment providers. It
also introduced the concept of integrated care pathways (ICPs) to
drug treatment, and care planning, coordination and monitoring –
familiar concepts to all social workers. The remaining tiers are
primarily geared at specialist drug treatment services. Models of Care was updated in 2006. It contains two key differences from its 2002 predecessor. First, it places more emphasis on harm reduction at all levels of intervention as well as within local communities and service user’s families and friends. Second, it changes its approach to the four tiers of service previously outlined. Instead of emphasising the four tiers as increasingly specialist service providers, Models of Care 2006 emphasis that the four tiers are more usefully viewed as four tiers of intervention.
The
key importance of this document for social workers is that it sets
out a level of assessment that all social workers should be able
to undertake in relation to drug use (see section on ‘identifying
and assessing substance use’). It is also helpful in understanding
how drug treatment services are structured so social workers have
a better chance of referring someone to the right type of treatment.
Drug
Interventions Programme (DIP)
This programme was formerly known as CJIP (Criminal Justice Intervention
Programme. The programme targets offenders of drug-related crimes
and uses the criminal justice system to get access to drug services
for offenders. Examples of initiatives under this programme include
arrest referral schemes, DTTOs (drug treatment and testing orders,
soon to be replaced by the DRR or Drug Rehabilitation Requirement)
and the CARAT service in prisons (Counselling, Assessment, Referral,
Advice and Throughcare). It is designed to offer a system for helping
drug-related offenders passing through all parts of the criminal
justice system.
Drug
Action Teams (DAT)/Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT)
These locally based teams have recently merged with the Crime and
Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP). According to the Government’s
drugs website, this was designed to “significantly improve
local delivery of the drugs and crime agendas”. The DATS are
tasked with delivering the national drugs strategy. This involves
commissioning drug services, monitoring performance and working
locally on issues such as training strategies and the dissemination
of drug treatment information.
Drug-related
legislation
There are three key pieces of legislation relating to drug use:
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
The MDA is designed to prevent the non-medical use of medical
and non-medical drugs. This is the Act that classifies drugs,
eg. Class A, B, C. The classification depends on the perceived
level of risk and harm the drug is expected to cause when used.
When people talk about ‘controlled’ drugs, the drugs
are controlled under this Act. The MDA also defines offences relating
to drugs, for example, possession, production, supply and so on.
- Medicines Act 1968
This act governs the manufacture and supply of all medicines.
It divides medicines into three categories: prescription only,
pharmacy only and general sales.
- Drugs Act 2005
This piece of legislation is intended to give police greater powers
to test for Class A drug use on arrest and, if a person is found
positive, send them for an assessment and drugs appointment. A
range of concerns have been raised about this new law, including
infringement of human rights. The law also address issues such
as dealing near schools or using children as couriers for drugs
and considers these factors as aggravating factors when it comes
to sentencing. Further, it tightens loopholes that exist in relation
to magic mushrooms and possession of substances for personal use.
Policy framework introduction | Alcohol policy | Relevant social work policy | Websites
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