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1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Introduction
As Dorian hurried up its three rickety steps, the heavy odour of opium met him. He heaved a deep breath, and his nostrils quivered with pleasure. . . . Dorian winced, and looked around at the grotesque things that lay in such fantastic postures on the ragged mattresses. The twisted limbs, the gaping mouths, the strange lustreless eyes, fascinated him. He knew in what strange heavens they were suffering, and what dull hells were teaching them the secrets of some new joy.1
āThis is a sex-crazing drug menace ... a gloomy monster of destruction.ā2
Compare the two quotations above: the first is fiction and relates to Dorian Gray's visit to an opium den in the East End of London at the turn of the nineteenth century; the other is journalistic, part of a series of headlines taken from American newspapers of the 1930s and relates to cannabis use. The point of using them in this introduction is their timelessness: they could have been culled from today's fiction or newspaper headlines, because they seem to reflect the same concerns and issues that we have about illicit drugs at the start of the twenty-first century. Their inclusion demonstrates that our fascination, horror and concern with illicit drug use, often demonstrated in equal measure, is not new, nor are the facets of drug use that fuel those concerns a new phenomenon.
At first glance, this work simply falls into the same pattern: it talks about illicit drug use in terms of āproblemsā and āsolutionsā, both of which are normative statements representing a value system that sees the recreational use of certain stimulants as wrong and in need of control. What marks it out is the fact that, ultimately, it questions the nature of the āproblemā and makes a concerted effort to explore a range of factors relating to illicit drug use. This is timely as illicit drug use is a prime area of concern and one that is generating a considerable degree of debate in Britain and beyond. In Britain, for example, among other things, we are in the throes of a process that is reclassifying cannabis, effectively decriminalizing possession. Further afield, it is coming to be recognized that the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan is being viewed in that region as a green light for renewed
and increased cultivation of the opium poppy, almost invariably leading to an increase in the amount of heroin available in Britain and the rest of Europe. Domestically and globally, illicit drugs are one of the key issues and problem areas for governments and society, leading to pressure on governments to solve the problem.
These problems fall into a number of discrete but connected areas. For example, in terms of the responsible organization, is illicit drug use a medical or law and order problem? Philosophically, how can we prohibit some mind-altering substances yet openly promote others, and even, as with wine during communion, use them as an integral part of some Christian ceremonies? Strategically, should we seek to stop illicit drugs at the point of production, point of entry into the country, at the point of distribution or the point of consumption? Economically, are we prepared to subsidize replacement crops in developing nations in order to prevent production of opium or coca? Educationally, do we aim for zero use or promote a harm minimization approach? Tactically, do we fight a āwar on drugsā or negotiate an āhonourable peaceā? So it goes on.
Obviously, in targeting the drugs issue we are dealing with a subject that encompasses a range of academic disciplines and thus provides myriad opportunities to analyse quite specific aspects of the illicit drug scene. For instance, illicit drugs can be and have been examined under the rubric of history, sociology, criminology, economics, medical science, politics, philosophy and policy studies. There are also elements of geography and anthropology evident in some works. It is even possible to use literary criticism to analyse illicit drug use! The result can be a bewildering amalgam of facts and directions, each with an important part to play, but somewhat confusing when viewed as separate entities.
The aim of this book is to draw together some of those disparate threads and provide the reader with a broad overview of the history, development and contemporary state of the British drug scene. Inevitably, such an approach occasionally sacrifices detail to grasp the wider picture. The contention here is that specific detail surrounding, say, the link between drugs and crime can be found in specialist publications. It is the aim of this book to locate specific aspects of illicit drug use, such as drugs and crime, within a broad framework of interrelated events and circumstances, allowing the reader to gauge the complexities involved in defining and solving the ādrug problemā.
With that broader framework in mind, the book is divided into three sections. The first section, Chapter 2 to 4, introduces and locates illicit drug use and associated policy responses within a British context. In detail, Chapter 2 offers an historical overview of drug use from the early 1800s to the 1960s. Chapter 3 builds on the conclusion of the previous chapter, namely the apparent rise in the misuse of illicit drugs during the past four decades. It takes as its core the problems we have in measuring drug misuse. It compares and contrasts two types of measurement: official statistics
compiled by treatment providers and the criminal justice system; and self-report data compiled by non-practice organizations and academics. It then reviews the methodological weaknesses of each approach and highlights the difficulties in measuring a hidden population such as drug users. The chapter concludes by employing the available data to draw a picture of contemporary drug misuse in Britain.
Chapter 4 sets out to explore the official responses to drug misuse in Britain. It examines the two key approaches to illicit drug use in Britain: the medico-socio treatment model and the criminal justice based punishment model. It begins by arguing that policing in the context of drug misusers is based around notions of control, control that can be exerted via either the medical or criminal justice systems, and it reviews the content of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It examines the manner in which the medical profession polices drug misusers through treatment regimes and prescription policies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the dual nature of the British approach to policing the same āproblemā.
The second section of the book traces the life of some of the illicit drugs available in Britain, moving from cultivation and synthesis, through market based exchanges, the sources and problems of funding which drug markets create for users and the state, to a review of the consequences of drug misuse. It begins with Chapter 5, which marks a watershed in the work. Up to this point drug misuse has been discussed in a somewhat narrow and parochial manner. The purpose of Chapter 5 is to alert the reader to the fact that drug misuse in Britain is, in fact, part of a much wider global phenomenon. Following this, the chapter provides a geographical breakdown of the main drug growing nations and their outputs. The chapter then focuses on the impact the growth and production of drugs has for the economies of some of the drug producing nations. The chapter finally moves to explore the production of synthetic drugs in Europe.
Chapter 6 builds upon the foundation laid above. It suggests that given the economic impact of drug production it may aid understanding to view illicit drugs as tradable commodities above all else. To support this view, the chapter begins by reviewing some basic economic theory concerning the relationship between supply and demand and their combined effect on prices. It moves away from economic theory and outlines the nature of the drug market in Britain, identifying key players and their respective roles in each stage of the retailing of illicit drugs. The chapter concludes with a review of the potential which the application of economic theory has as a controlling mechanism for dealing with drug misuse.
Chapter 7 looks at the cost of drug use in a number of terms. Having identified and clarified the economic aspects of drug misuse, this chapter turns its attention towards the problems drug misuse pose for the user and society both in terms of paying for the goods and in health and social welfare related costs. The chapter begins by exploring the links between drugs and crime. It then offers a typology of drug criminals and identifies and discusses three distinct,
but not mutually exclusive, groups. It then broadens the definition of cost and asks the reader to view costs not solely in economic terms but also in terms of health and social welfare.
The third section begins with an examination of the current policies adopted by Britain in its attempt to combat illicit drug use. It then moves to explore the normalization thesis. Following this it compares the development of policies in Britain with those adopted elsewhere, specifically the Netherlands and Sweden. Here, the links between socio-economic, cultural and political systems and drug control strategies are explored.
Chapter 8 looks specifically at the demand for drugs in terms of the normalization thesis and its links with youth sub-cultures. Chapter 9 takes as its focus contemporary developments in drug policy, locating them in wider developments elsewhere in social policy, namely the growth of the partnership approach. This is used to explain the growth in the concept of harm reduction, and comment is made on the transition from harm reduction as a strategy based around individual need to its more recent application to encompass individual and societal harm. The chapter also reviews key legislative and policy developments since 1990, in particular Tackling Drugs Together (1995) and Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain (1998).
The work concludes by comparing Britain's drug policy with that of two of its near neighbours. Outlining the usefulness of comparative work, it also seeks to alert readers to the need to consider a number of socio-cultural, political and economic factors when making comparisons. The chapter then reviews the drug policies of two nations. The Netherlands has a well-known policy of tolerance, but the socio-cultural influence is noted as a key to the Dutch approach. Sweden on the other hand has one of the continent's hardline approaches towards drugs. Again, a variety of factors is examined to cover the reasons behind this. The work closes by offering a review of the impact the British state and society have had on our own approach to drug misuse.
Before embarking on the first substantive part of the book it is important to clarify one point. Throughout the book, the terms ādrugā, āillicit drugā and āsubstanceā will be used interchangeably, although the preferred option is āillicit drugā. These terms relate to all substances covered under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act and nothing else, except where specifically stated. The work does not, nor is it meant to, cover licit substances used by persons under the legal age of consumption, neither does it refer to the misuse of substances such as aerosols, lighter fluid, correction fluids and the like. Equally, it does not refer to the misuse, either through zealous or uncontrolled prescription, or misappropriation, of prescription drugs. This is not to say that I do not recognize the potential harm these substances pose, it is simply that this book takes as its focus drugs that are outlawed for all and sundry.
Finally, although I am the sole author of this book and take full responsibility for its content, it is important to note that a work such as this always involves other people, a number of whom need to be mentioned and thanked.
Much gratitude goes to David Smith, recently retired from the University of Glamorgan, for his initial enthusiasm about this project. Had he not provided me with the opportunity and encouragement to develop this wide-ranging approach to teaching and researching illicit drug use, I would never have embarked on this book. Thanks must also be extended to my colleagues at the University of Plymouth who have provided solid support and even managed to continue to look interested when I have droned on and on about this work. Mari Shullaw and James McNally at Routledge have always been on hand to offer advice about any queries I may have had. Once again, Sally and her American computer came to the rescue in the end. Finally, I should like to acknowledge my debt to three people who, in all probability, will never know of this work's existence yet who could not have been more instrumental in its inception all those years ago: Dave, Keith and Andrea. I can honestly say that without them this book would never have been started.
Notes
1Ā Ā Wilde, Oscar (1986) A Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Marshall Cavendish.
2Ā Ā Goode, E. and Ben-Yehuda, N. (1994) Moral Panics. Oxford: Blackwell.
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2 An historical overview of
the social construction of the
British ādrug problemā
Introduction
This opening chapter provides an historical overview of the manner in which many of those substances now categorized as illicit drugs came to be so. It is important to begin in this manner for two reasons. Firstly, it sets the scene for the rest of the work, inasmuch as it alerts the reader to the fact that the book sees the ādrug problemā as essentially a social, political and economic construct. Secondly, it provides an historical framework that is central to developing an understanding of contemporary British drug policy. As Berridge (1989: 34) notes, āhistory can indicate . . . the need for an awareness of the determinants, attitudes and policies, and an indication of the nature and consequences of optionsā. In this way, history encourages the reader to view substance use through a variety of lenses so that the British experience may come to be seen as a consequence of a number of interrelated historical and contemporary events, some of which are totally outside the control of British policy makers.
In order to achieve this, the chapter focuses on six eras in which events relating to substance use have collectively shaped the current approach to the control of some substances. The chapter begins by examining the period from 1800 to 1850, a period when the use of, and market in, substances such as opium went largely unchecked by the British state. The second era looks at the period from 1850 to 1900. These five decades saw the beginnings of public concern and debate around the unrestricted use of opium in Britain, and a questioning of continued British involvement with the opium trade. Key in this change was the influence of both morality and medicine in the early construction of the ādrug problemā.
From there, the chapter moves on to detail events in the period 1900 to 1926. This is an important era as it marks the beginnings of a dual approach to substance use within British policy, as well as charting the growing influence of international treaties on domestic policy. The discussion then moves across time from 1927 to 1964, noting that this period was one of relative inactivity as far as substance use was concerned. However, the final two eras, 1964 to 1979 and 1980 until the present are characterized as periods of intense activity as the British state seemingly struggles to cope with a burgeoning ādrug problemā.
1800 to 1850: the era of laissez-faire in substance control
There are any number of starting points that could have been chosen in a history of substance use in Britain. For example, reference could have been made to the Viking warriors' use of the mushroom Aminita musicara to induce feelings of aggression, or to the fact that in medieval times plants such as mandrake, henbane and belladonna were used by some to stimulate visions and a sense of flying (Grilly 1998: 2). However, I have chosen 1800 as a start date in order to align the work with the beginnings of modern Britain, a period which Fraser (1984) sees as the genesis of our contemporary approach to civil society and social policy.
One of the immediate features of the period between 1800 and 1850 is the relative lack of anxiety exhibited by society over substances that today cause us considerable concern. In our contemporary language, substance use in the early 1800s was ānormalizedā, and for the majority of the nineteenth century supply was unrestricted (Berridge 1989). Indeed, while most histories of Britain acknowledge that alcohol has always had a widespread appeal and usage (Stearn 1975), few give space to the fact that āOpium has been consumed wholesale, largely with equanimity, in Britain for centuriesā (Harding 1998: 1). As an example, Berridge (1989: 24) estimates that home consumption of opium in the period 1800 to 1850 was around 2ā3 lb per thousand of the population. Nor was it only opium: morphine, cannabis and latterly cocaine were all freely available and unrestricted, although it appears that opium was by far the most used by the general public (Berridge 1989; Mott and Bean 1998).
As an indication of normalization of opium use, Berridge (1989: 23) cites an inquest held in Hull during 1854 where the coroner noted that a baby was poisoned due to an overdose of laudanum (a liquid opiate consisting of raw opium, distilled water and alcohol). The child was given the laudanum as a result of it being mistaken for syrup of rhubarb. Berridge further remarks that the original sale was to a child messenger of six or seven years old. It appears that the grocer kept opium-based products on a shelf alongside āother bottles of the same shape and sizeā. Why, then, was there so little concern over the use of what are now seen as dangerous drugs?
There are two significant sets of reasons. Firstly, at the beginning of the eighteenth century the medical profession was only just starting to capita...
