Drug Users In Scotland Research Articles

Pre-Teen Drug Users in Scotland

Aim. To compare and contrast those SI pupils in Scotland (typically age 11 to 12) who have initiated illegal drug use with their non-illegal drug using peers. Design. Self-completion school surveys totaling 930 SI pupils. Setting. Dundee, Perth and Kinross, and Lanarkshire, Scotland. Findings. This research has identified that approximately one in ten SI pupils have already initiated illegal drug use in Scotland. Young people who reported using illegal drugs at this early age tended to have started smoking and drinking alcohol at an earlier age than their non-illegal drug using peers and to be both smoking and drinking alcohol at a higher level than those peers. The illegal drug using pupils were much more likely than their peers to have been exposed to illegal drugs, to have been involved in a range of problem behaviours and to have friends who were also involved in a range of problem behaviours. The illegal drug using young people were also much more likely to have someone in their family who was also using illegal drugs. Conclusions. There is a need to target interventions upon those young people who have initiated illegal drug use at this early age, however doing so is unlikely to be straightforward. It is suggested that there may be some merit in using an “at-risk” type register to focus upon those young people at particularly high risk of initiating illegal drug use.

Drug Misuse in Scotland: Policy, Prevalence, and Public Health

The paper outlines the nature and extent of illegal drug use in Scotland. The paper provides a detailed discussion of the impact of HIV among injecting drug users in Scotland. It is shown that although HIV remains a major public health concern within parts of Scotland, most notably in Edinburgh and Dundee, HIV infection remains low elsewhere within Scotland. Although concern in relation to HIV has receded in light of the continuing low prevalence, there has been growing concern over the marked increase in drug-related deaths among drug users within parts of Scotland. Within the policy sphere greater attention is now being given to topic of drug prevention and the impact of drug use on community well being.

Psychoactive substance use and related behaviours of 135 regular illicit drug users in Scotland

Using a ‘snowballing’ technique, prospective data have been collected from 135 regular drug using individuals in two Scottish towns, Edinburgh, and Ayr. Data from the first wave would suggest that poly drug use is common, with a major reliance on licit, prescribed substances. Amongst both intravenous and non-intravenous drug users, awareness and concern about HIV/ AIDS would not appear to have produced significant changes in sexual behaviour. Furthermore, responses from intravenous users indicate that there has been no large scale adoption of safer injection techniques.