drug misuse

Second annual report which sets out the progress made in 2002 across all 4 pillars of the Executive’s drugs strategy, namely, young people, communities, treatment and availability.

Herbal cannabis and cannabis resin are the most widely-misused illicit substances in the UK. In 2006, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) reviewed the classification of cannabis. One of the recommendations was that a further study should be carried out to determine the market share of different types of cannabis and their potencies. The Home Office funded the project.

First in a series of guides on developing and implementing Integrated Care Pathways (ICPs). While ICPs have been developed within health settings, there is a growing interest in their development across a range of treatment and social care settings to ensure that a co-ordinated, quality service is provided over the full continuum of care. Care pathways are designed to minimise delays, make best use of resources, and maximise quality of care.

This guide examines when and how integrated care pathways can be used to provide better care for people with drug problems.

These guidelines are a revision of 'Drug Misuse and Dependence: Guidelines on Clinical Management' published in 1991. A comprehensive set of guidance is provided for doctors in the assessment, treatment and management of drug users and drug misuse.

The former First Minister, Jack McConnell, announced a review of the place of methadone in drug treatment programmes on 6 March 2006 following the death of 2 year old Derek Doran. This review was conducted at the same time as the wider inter-departmental programme of work being undertaken across the Executive on children in drug abusing households.

There is increasing public, political and media interest in the use of methadone in drug treatment and in the perceived public risk posed by ‘leakage’ into the wider community, particularly in relation to children.

This review examines the impact of drug use upon families and carers and identifies their needs. It examines and describes the range of provision and methods of addressing the needs of families and carers. It gives particular attention to the development of family support groups. It also offers information about resources available to agencies, service providers and family support groups.

This is the second in a series of guides on developing and implementing Integrated Care Pathways (ICPs). This guide identifies the steps involved in developing an ICP and examines each process in more detail.

It is aimed at anyone involved in commissioning, planning, developing, delivering and evaluating services for drug users.

Cross-government website for drug professionals and anyone interested in the national drug strategy.

In December 2002, the Government launched the Updated Drug Strategy 2002. This built upon, and adapted the Government's Drug Strategy Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain, launched in 1998. Aiming to reduce the harm that drugs cause to society - communities, individuals and their families - the Drug Strategy has four main elements: young people, reducing supply, communities, treatment.

This report summarises the results of the third and final sweep of a study to estimate the prevalence of ‘problem drug use’ (defined as use of opiates and/or crack cocaine) nationally (England only), regionally, and locally. An overview of national and Government Office Region estimates are presented in this report, as are comparisons with the estimates produced by the second (2005/06) sweep of the study.

This is the second evaluation guide in the Effective Interventions Unit Evaluation series. This guide aims to explain the planning stage of an evaluation by describing the steps necessary in planning both an intervention and an associated evaluation, identifying some general questions to address when planning an intervention, and outlining some questions that evaluations commonly tackle.

To help illustrate the main points in this guide, an example of a fictitious outreach needle exchange service is used.