Member News
By Lord Patel of Bradford - 26th July 2010
Absence of appropriate drug services leaves communities at risk from harm, according to a commission report.
The UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) warns both mainstream and specialist drug treatment services need to do more to take account of the needs of diverse communities, otherwise a whole of group of at-risk users are potentially being by-passed.
Launched today at an event in the House of Lords, the commission delivers its message in a set of hard hitting reports.
The three reports 'The impact of drugs on different minority groups: A review of the UK literature' [ (i) lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender groups (LGBT) (ii) ethnic groups and (iii) disabled people ] funded by the Home Office, with support from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, argue that a better understanding of drug use within diverse communities may provide warning of 'new' or emergent patterns of drug use and says that better data gathering could be used to flag up health risks associated with new drugs before their use becomes widespread.
As a former UKDPC commissioner, and someone who has spent a long time dedicated to improving our understanding of the complex interplay between social exclusion, mental health, substance misuse, ethnicity and services, I wholeheartedly back the report findings showing that mainstream treatment services are not doing enough to meet the needs of Britain's diverse communities when it comes to illegal drug use.
The UKDPC findings are timely because they present challenges for drug service commissioners and practitioners, as well as the criminal justice system, ahead of the Spending Review and before the coalition government's new drug strategy is announced. With new public health boards, crime commissioners and offender rehabilitation trusts all being talked about against a backdrop of the new Equality Act (2010), it will be important for the government to address the issues raised by the reports.
A few statistical points help to put the wide ranging work in context.
The recently published British Crime Survey data paints a worrying picture about the prevalence of drug use amongst gay, lesbian and bisexual groups, with the data showing that their level of overall drug use, in the last year recorded, was approximately three times that of heterosexuals. And for use of any stimulants it was four times.
Other BCS statistics help us understand drugs amongst minority ethnic groups where the evidence suggests that prevalence of illicit drug use is highest among mixed race groups, but where South Asian groups have significantly lower levels of reported drug use compared to all other ethnic groups.
Over the years, some specialist services have been developed and there are some excellent examples of good practice, as I found when I led a similar community engagement study for the Department of Health a few years ago. But the commission's research points to concern that some of these may prove to be unsustainable in the future as the financial pressures bite. We must also not forget the power and contribution of community organisations that can provide an important role in education, prevention and treatment.
Of course it's important we improve our responses across the board but there are key areas demanding more attention. For example it would appear people with disabilities could be at risk due to their wide ranging needs, with the evidence suggesting there are large numbers of people with learning disabilities within prisons who are particularly vulnerable and many in minority ethnic groups are largely unaware of what services are available to help them. Many of LGBT groups too regard mainstream drug services as irrelevant to their needs.
Today's reports show there is a very strong case for government keeping these issues alive in their national drug strategy and new plans. We need more and better research and development about this topic and who is better placed to commission this than the Home Office with their colleagues across Whitehall?
By Professor Lord (Kamlesh) Patel of Bradford
* The Impact of Drugs on Different Minority Groups: A Review of the UK Literature Part 1: Ethnic Groups, Part 2: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Groups, Part 3: Disabled People is available at:
http://www.ukdpc.org.uk/index.shtml together with the Policy & Practice briefings.
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