Drugs and Alcohol Today: Volume 10 Issue 2

The lame consensus on treatment

Legal Eye

Policy forum Pre‐election party political drug policy briefing

This paper reviews the drug policies offered by the main political parties. Labour is set on continuing with its strategy, investing in treatment while staying tough on supply;…

The misuse of drugs and the ACMD: an open letter to Professor Iversen

After discovering that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, in their 38 years of public service, had not sought, nor been provided, independent legal advice regarding the…

Maze and minefield — a grounded theory of opiate self‐detoxification in rural Ireland

Opiate use is no longer confined to the greater urban context in Ireland, with scant detoxification services present in rural areas (Carew et al, 2009; National Advisory Committee…

Detoxing dependent drinkers in a methadone prescribing service

This paper examines a common presentation to primary care and specialist drug services. Often patients who are experiencing opioid dependencies when stabilising on methadone often…

No time to talk: how client assessment requirements get in the way of treatment

The requirement for information from treatment services has transformed the relationship between drug treatment worker and client. Key work sessions are increasingly dominated by…

Drug education in the former Soviet Union: parallels and populism

Russian interest in drug education and prevention programmes for schools is a response to growing official awareness of substance misuse. Official voices tend to make a…

Media resource round up

Book reviews Opium: Uncovering the politics of the poppy