What is a Community Drug Problem?
Drug use is first and foremost a problem for the individual drug user. A community drug problem emerges when a) there are a significant number of people engaging in problematic drug use in a particular area and b) the community does not have adequate resources to deal with the problems that arise. Read the Citywide Report - The Drugs Crisis in Local Communities (2003)
A National Advisory Committee on Drugs study in 2006, focused on the development of community indicators that reflect the impact of problem drug use in local communities:
A Community Drugs Study: Developing Community Indicators for Problem Drug Use
Problems of individual addiction are compounded in communities by:
- Availability & range of drug use (poly drug use) including alcohol
- Visibility/ public drug dealing
- Familiarity/normality - the normalization of drug use & the ease in which drugs are available
- Social nuisance/community spaces being used for drug dealing
- Community safety / intimidation of the local community
- Community pride/image/social networks disintegrating
- Lack of resources to respond
In many communities play grounds, parks and recreational areas are taken over by the drugs trade and can become no-go areas. National* and International** studies indicate that high levels of unemployment, lower levels of secondary school completion & a high concentration of social housing can leave communities inadequately resourced to deal with these problems.
*Mayock, P. and Moran R. (2000) Social Issues and Public Attitudes Associated with Drug Misuse in Overview of Drug Issues in Ireland - Resource Document. Dublin. Drug Misuse Research Division, Health Research Board
**O'Higgins K (1998). Review of the literature and policy on the links between poverty and drug abuse. Dublin: The Economic and Social Research Institute and The Combat Poverty Agency.
