NCJ Number
190851
Journal
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 7-16
Date Published
March 2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines the legal framework concerning substance abuse in England and Wales, the relationship to crime, the effectiveness of intervention, and current strategies for dealing with the problem.
Abstract
After reviewing specific laws and statutes to control drug use in England and Wales, the article considers health and legal implications of substance misuse. The medical complications of substance misuse may themselves have legal implications as they may present while an individual is in police or prison custody. Inappropriate medical and custodial treatment may lay open the risks of civil action for negligent medical care. The amount of crime related to substance misuse is vast. There are few areas of the criminal justice system that are not affected (i.e., workload increased) as a direct result of substance misuse. The article claims it was not possible to establish in general terms whether one type of drug treatment was more effective than another -- treatment must be matched to the client. However, benefits, including reduction in criminal activity, were conferred by methadone reduction programs, oral methadone maintenance programs, residential rehabilitation programs, and specialist inpatient drug units. Government initiatives being considered to deal with drug use and abuse and crime connected with drugs include creation of a national drug treatment agency, modifications to regulations governing how doctors prescribe to drug addicts, and creation of drug courts. Tables, references