000			02000cam a2200205 4500500
005			20250121211016.0
041			_afre
042			_adc
100	1	0	_aPearson, Geoffrey _eauthor
245	0	0	_aTrends in Issues Related to Drug Addiction and Drug Policies in the United Kingdom
260			_c2008.
500			_a10
520			_aBritain was something of a late developer in terms of problems with illicit drugs. The use of opium and morphine in various medicinal products was not unknown in the 19th century, and during the 1914-18 War there was a brief episode of cocaine use. However, after the adoption of the Rolleston committee system in the 1920s, the level of drug addiction remained remarkably low but the so-called “British system” broke down in the late 1960s. Heroin in cheap and plentiful supply became suddenly available from Iran and Afghanistan. The habit of “chasing the dragon” spread like a whirlwind among the young unemployed (this was the Tatcher’s period) in many towns and cities in the north of England. A dominant policy response to this epidemic from the late 1980s onwards was the promotion of “harm reduction” strategies to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS (such as needle exchange schemes). The policy agenda has also shifted, away towards a crime-control approach with one-third or more of crime being estimated to be drug-related, especially to heroin and crack-cocaine. The most commonly used drug in Britain remains cannabis, with probably 3-5 million regular users, and quite recently the penalties for cannabis possession have been reduced; and since then the level of cannabis use has fallen a little. But why is unknown.
690			_aPUBLIC HEALTH
690			_aSOCIAL POLICY
690			_aDRUGS ( DEALING )
690			_aDRUGS ( USE OF )
786	0		_nDéviance et Société | 32 | 3 | 2008-08-21 | p. 251-266 | 0378-7931
856	4	1	_uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-deviance-et-societe-2008-3-page-251?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999			_c693789 _d693789