This book presents a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the strategic and policy responses to illicit drug use in the Britain since the mid-1980s. It maps and discusses the ways in which the UK government has aimed to ensure a more consistent framework for the delivery of drugs services and interventions. In addition, the book explores a range of political, economic, social and global factors that have provided the context for the development and implementation of a series of over-arching policy measures in the last two decades. This volume seeks to examine how the Criminal Justice System has become a significant (but not exclusive) framework for the design, delivery and funding of drug services and interventions. Although other approaches remain important to understanding the scope and range of responses to substance misuse - such as education, prevention strategies and harm minimisation, particularly in relation to blood-borne viruses such as Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDs - this text explores the importance and centrality of the Criminal Justice System as a framework for and specific influence on policy, funding and targets in recent years. This book will be essential for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying in the criminal justice fields, health and social care and specialist courses in substance misuse; individuals studying for professional and work-based qualifications in substance misuse and related fields; practitioners in the substance misuse field - especially those delivering services within a criminal justice setting or in partnership with criminal justice agencies; and general readers interested in developing a better understanding of the complexity of current policy issued and their impact on current interventions, structures and programmes directed at reducing substance misuse in the UK.
Dealing with Drugs : Strategy, Policy and Practice