Drug services 'little relevance' to diverse UK communities

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Parliamentary researcher Jenny Stevens reports from the launch of the UK Drug Policy Commission report on the impact of drugs on different minority groups.

Drug services are of "little relevance" to Britain's diverse communities, according to a report by the UK Drug Policy Commission, launched yesterday in the House of Lords.

The report, which reviews the existing literature on the impact of drug use on minority groups, says that the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, disabled people and black and minority ethnic groups are not being met by mainstream service providers.

The government's new drug strategy, set to be published later this year, should take into account the wider range of substances used by different communities beyond the current focus on crack and heroin use, which does not adequately meet the needs of some groups, said UKDPC CEO Roger Howard.

"The new government's ambition is to see fewer people using drugs and we hope our review aimed at improving understanding about which groups are misusing drugs, why and what the effectiveness of responses have been, will make a useful and timely contribution at the national and local level."

The lead commissioner of the report, Professor Baroness Afshar said that that the Equality Act will help to highlight the needs of diverse communities when tackling drug use.

"When the new coalition government is bringing forward public service reform plans and a new drug strategy, against the backdrop of new equalities legislation, there is a fresh opportunity to rethink the way we respond to drug use amongst a range of diverse communities, whose needs have become overshadowed by other issues."

• 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 and practice briefings.

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