NCJ Number
143836
Journal
Contemporary Drug Problems Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 279-301
Date Published
1992
Length
23 pages
Annotation
During the 1980's, Great Britain experienced a heroin epidemic unprecedented in its scale and intensity.
Abstract
In overall terms, the number of heroin seizures in 1983 was double that of the previous year, and the number of addicts notified to the Home Office also doubled between 1979 and 1983. By 1988, the number of heroin addicts numbered 20,000, a 400-percent increase in a decade. The onset of the epidemic was associated with the sudden availability of high- quality heroin at low prices, imported from Southwest Asia. While the use of heroin spread quickly in many towns and cities, there remains considerable local and regional variance in patterns and levels of drug misuse in Great Britain, including associated levels of HIV infection among intravenous drug users. Heroin use today remains concentrated in areas marked by high unemployment, housing decay, and other aspects of urban deprivation. Studies into the relationship between drug use and crime suggest that many heroin users had already begun their criminal careers before the onset of their addiction. However, the research continues into the drug-crime association as well as the impact of medical treatment on reducing the amount of crime committed by heroin users. 92 references