Abstract
BackgroundThe use of illicit substances causes various health and social problems globally. Moreover, open drug use and dealing in urban areas, i.e., open drug scenes, can cause public order problems, lead to the recruitment of marginalized and young people for drug use or sale, and induce feelings of insecurity in the general public. Although some international studies have described various ways to manage open drug scenes, such as law enforcement and social interventions, there is limited knowledge about the facilitators and barriers promoting or impeding the implementation of such interventions. The aim of the current study was to explore how different authorities describe the nature of two open drug scenes in Stockholm and to derive authorities’ perspective on facilitators and barriers to implementing interventions to reduce open drug dealing, drug use, and related problems at these locations.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with police officers, security staff, social workers, and municipality officials (n = 21) in the municipality of Stockholm were conducted and analyzed by qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe analysis of the interviews generated the following categories: Problems, Interventions, Organizational factors, and External factors, revealing information about the strategic and daily counteracting work occurring at the open drug scenes as well as authorities’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementing interventions to reduce open drug dealing, drug use, and related problems. Facilitators included motivated and skilled professionals and organized collaboration between key actors. Prominent barriers were a lack of resources to maintain personnel continuity at the scenes, policies that impede information sharing and put security staff in danger, and people who use or sell drugs without having residence permits.ConclusionsTo increase the possibility of successful implementation of interventions to counteract open drug dealing, politicians and authorities should pay attention to collaboration between key actors, sufficient resource allocation, possible modification of policy governing professional duties, and remedies to the vulnerability of individuals without residence permits.
Highlights
The use of illicit substances causes various health and social problems globally
To expand the knowledge on how to facilitate the implementation of interventions to counteract open drug scenes, the current study aims to explore how different authorities describe the nature of two open drug scenes in Stockholm and to derive authorities’ perspective on facilitators and barriers to implementing interventions to reduce open drug dealing, drug use, and related problems at these locations
Informal control is thought to be achieved through the increased presence of citizens who do not engage in drug use or dealing
Summary
Open drug use and dealing in urban areas, i.e., open drug scenes, can cause public order problems, lead to the recruitment of marginalized and young people for drug use or sale, and induce feelings of insecurity in the general public. Open drug scenes might provide an opportunity to buy and sell relatively anonymously, as the extent of sales cannot be traced over time in the same way that online transactions can. These drug scenes potentially provide a range of people, including minors and those from socially marginalized groups, with different drugs [3]. During the past 50 years, various strategies have been developed and used in Europe and other Western countries to counteract the existence and spread of open drug scenes [5, 7,8,9,10,11]
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