Drugs in Britain: Supply, Consumption and Control by M. Simpson, T. Shildrick and R. MacDonald (Eds.).

Abstract

Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan ( 2007 ) 205pp. £19.99pb ISBN 1-4039-3695-1 Drugs in Britain attempts to ‘unravel some of the contradictions and controversies’ that surround the use and distribution of illegal drugs in Great Britain (p.2). It is an edited volume of ten chapters that is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the distribution and consumption of illicit drugs and the second part on policing, control and care. The contributors include some of the key authors who publish in the field of drugs misuse (for example, Hough, Pearson and Turnbull). The book is written with authority and clarity, making it suitable for a wide audience, including researchers, drug workers, academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students. The editors begin the book with a useful chapter that introduces the reader to the complexity of the drug situation in Britain. The focus on David Cameron's admission of illicit drug use during his university days illustrates both the political relevance of the issue and the ‘increasing cultural toleration’, or normalisation, of illicit drug use in British society (p.1). As the authors point out, it is hard to imagine a time when the leader of a British political party could enter a discussion on personal drug use with ‘such little ill-effect’ (p.1). The introduction not only places the book in context, but also provides the reader with detailed chapter summaries that cleverly tease out the key issues under investigation. Part One of the book provides readers with information about the use and distribution of illicit drugs in Britain. Newcombe, for example, explores national trends in drug use and concludes that a plateau stage may have been reached. Blackman explores the connection between youth culture and recreational drug use and reviews the key films, songs and literature in which illicit drugs have featured. Seddon, by contrast, reviews the development of Britain's ‘heroin problem’ over the last century (p.61). He predicts, rather bleakly, that a new heroin epidemic might unfold in Britain from around 2010. In the last chapter of Part One, Pearson investigates the operation of drug markets and reviews the ‘pitifully thin’ evidence base (p.76). He concludes that that drug markets are ‘highly fragmented with different actors playing different roles at different times’ with no-one able to draw the whole picture (p.90). Part Two of the book is largely concerned with official responses to the problems created by illicit drug use. McSweeney, Hough and Turnbull explore the connection between illicit drug use and crime, and consider the power of the police and courts to coerce drug-misusing offenders into treatment. They conclude that, with appropriate treatment and support, a minority can be expected to reduce their level of offending. Crowther-Dowey looks from a historical perspective at the policing of drugs in Britain. He describes how, in recent years, the police have been performing a wider range of duties, beyond crime management and reduction. Harm reduction, he explains, is now a ‘core component of contemporary policing’ (p.124). McInness and Barrett review the literature evaluating the effectiveness of drug education programmes and show that such programmes have had only marginal success in changing attitudes and behaviours in relation to illicit drug use. They predict the growth of a more liberal approach to drugs education in line with the increasing ‘normative tolerance of recreational drug use’ (p.138). In the last chapter of Part Two Webster explores the history of drug treatment and control in Britain. He considers the debates surrounding coercive drug treatment and suggests that entering treatment and staying in treatment are quite different issues. The criminal justice system, he asserts, ‘cannot easily influence the quality, and therefore the effectiveness, of treatment programmes’ (p.155). In the concluding chapter, MacDonald, Shildrick and Simpson (the book's editors) use a case-study approach to draw out the main conclusions of the preceding chapters. The use of Barney's experiences neatly highlights the key issues explored throughout the book. The editors express serious doubts about the effectiveness of current British drugs policy and recommend that drugs policy would be better off: (i) targeting the adverse conditions that seem to provide the context for illicit drug use; and (ii) addressing the flaws in current drug treatment provision. Drugs in Britain does not cover all the issues relevant to the study of drugs in Britain. It does not claim to. What it does do, however, is provide readers with a clear and succinct overview of the key issues. Those readers left wanting more at the end of each chapter are provided with useful ‘further reading’ lists and thought-provoking ‘study questions’. I would thoroughly recommend this book to students, academics, drug workers or indeed anyone with an interest in one of the most important social issues of the current time.