Introduction
This report will be exploring global narcotics through the macro global theme of Austerity and its substantial role in problematic substance misuse within society. The author will be defining the running global theme of austerity looking comprehensively into the subject and its role within our civilisation to date. This theme will be discussed methodically exploring the clear link between globalisation and austerity whilst discussing fundamental, social, economic, technological and political concepts around unequal development. The author will be discussing the role of global narcotics and its growing trade in relation to the increase in supply and demand and prohibition, discussing areas such as the dark web and the high level of need for drugs in areas of deprivation. The author will be discussing prohibition and legislation underpinning the micro theme of substance misuse. The main implications for social work aspect of this report will be discussed in relation to dual diagnosis and the problematic nature of diagnosis. Furthermore, author will be delving into the best practice feature in relation to substance theme through harm reduction and will be identifying various forms of harm reduction in which have been implemented within services. Lastly the author will be stating their own recommendations to create an impact of change within this subject matter, through increase in budgets to the implementation of new services.
Global Theme
Globalisation as defined by the organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) is “The geographic dispersion of industrial and service activities for example research and development, sourcing of inputs, production and distribution and the cross-border networking of companies for example through joint ventures and the sharing of assets.” ( OECD, quoted by Riley. J (n.d) Globalisation a process in which national economies have become progressively integrated and interdependent, both economically and culturally. It is a practice in which is driven by trade investment, technology and finance. The ideology of globalisation enables expansion in technology around both transport and communication. A clear example of this is through the introduction of bulk carriers and container ships, the implementation of this transport presents reduced cost and an amplified volume of trade which is lucrative for both governments and many investors through trade. Globalisation has clear links going back to the silk road initiative, as quoted by McBride, “More than two thousand years ago, China’s Han Dynasty launched the Silk Road, a sprawling network of commerce that linked South and Central Asia with the Middle East and Europe.”(2015, S.5) This trade system has been imperative towards countries all over the world through central Asia being the epicentre of one of the first waves of globalization, this connecting eastern and western markets, stimulating wealth.
The advances in which technology has produced over current years through globalisation has played a substantial role within the global narcotics trade, the creation of what is known as the deep web has thrived through globalisation. With the advancement of technological resources and information, the ideology of deep web is new-found ability to trade illicit drugs around the world through the click of a button on the internet right to the consumers front door, like day to day online shopping. The EU Drug Markets report published in 2016 identifies and comprehensively discuses, ‘The Expanding Influence of The Internet’. The report emphasis the internet as being an important contributor to globalisation impacted on the drug market in a number of ways. The advancement of technological communications has promoted the marketisation and trade of both legal and illegal substance misuse on an unprecedented scale within our society, enabling the manufacture and consumption of illicit drug pharmaceutical substances alongside new predominant psychoactive substances. The deep web stipulates innovative ways to access suppliers and customers. It is not so easy to access, unlike websites including Amazon, or your local online store, as the internet integrates what is well-known as the surface web, such as a typical web search. The deep web contains distinctive content such as web pages, private web pages and blocked web pages. With supply and demand throughout the global infrastructure continuously being more prevalent, the formation of the deep web allows fast trade and profit for these online criminals. In recent years, high levels of attention have been identified in online marketplaces in relation to the dominant sale of psychoactive substances. Where there is high demand, the ability to supply is becoming increasingly faster.
Globalisation has significant impact on austerity within our society. It has a clear influence on the everyday lives through economic, social, cultural and political aspects. Globalisation impacts the implementation of austerity, with a competitional approach in relation to the rise in prices for goods and services, which enables an individual to afford a minimum standard of living. Research taken by the Joseph Rountree Foundation, looking specifically into the impact of globalisation on austerity as found by Hirsch et al (2011, quoted in Hanley, 2011, p.10) it was concluded that, “Global influences on UK prices could have a significant impact on the ability of people in the UK to afford a minimum acceptable standard of living. They argue that future governments therefore need to consider the options to counter the potential effects of global price rises on the standard of living of the worse‐off groups in the UK. The scope for influencing these prices may be limited, although governments can potentially address uncompetitive practices that cause the cost of basics to rise.” This quotation shows a clear correlation between the impact in what globalisation holds through austerity, to the impact it has on millennials within society. The normalisation of substance consumption is linked back to globalisation. An increase in free legal trade has resulted in the rising increase of the shadow economy. The shadow economy is a result of the development of a free trade system in which is globalised. The transportation of legal items such as jewellery and phones, alongside these commodities, are high levels of illegal substances being flowed through the system on an unprecedented scale.
Often areas hit hardest by the economic restructuring of neo liberalism are the hardest hit in relation to problematic substance misuse and mental distress. (Hill, Penson, Charura 2016, P.38)
The misuse of drugs act 1971 is an act which underpins the prohibition of using non-medical drugs. The drugs contained within this act are known as controlled drugs in which this act regulates the unlawful supply, import, production and export of any known controlled drug. This act works alongside the ideology of prohibition of illicit drug use with implementing the legislation around trade, prohibition enables stop search tasks to be taken out on individuals within society to reduce drug crime and the distribution of drugs within society. A council in which advises the government on drug misuse matters is the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD is a British statutory advisory non-departmental public body in which was founded under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The advisory council have constructed a report centred on drug misuse and the environment. The ideology of this report is to highlight how service users have been neglected in relation to the tackle of drug misuse and how the research founded identifies the statistical relationship between deprivation and problematic drug use. With the opening statement summarising the report itself, “The environment, the totality of our surround, has all too often been ignored”.(1998, P.1) This quote shows how an environment can have a clear impact onto an individual’s life the report goes onto discuss research in relation to deprived areas, such as the discovery that the highest concentrations of drug relation problems are nearly always found within the poorest urban areas.
The ideology of austerity can be identified in the year of 2018, the year in which many European countries claimed a global and economic financial crisis, also known as the great recession. As Blyth (2013, P.2) defined “Austerity is a form of voluntary deflation in which the economy adjusts through the reduction of wages, prices, and public spending in order to restore competitiveness which is supposedly best achieved by cutting the state’s budget, debts, and deficits.” Governments do not implement austerity measures lightly. The procedures are only implemented in forced credit market circumstances. In the event in which European austerity occurred, many investors and investing countries were no longer confident in the capability in which these European countries could repay the government debt, to reassure the credit market these our conservative government implemented spending cuts and reducing budgets. As Described by Ferguson and Woodward, “The overwhelming majority of people who use social work services in Britain today belong to that fifth of the population officially designated as ‘poor’ and, as such, are likely to be most affected by rising prices and economic insecurity” (2009,P.2). This quotation shows a clear legitimate link between social work practice and austerity itself. Austerity evokes the neoliberal longing to emphasise a capitalist production of private markets, this being the drivers of growth within our conservative government’s future ideology to deregulate labour markets in turn of privatisation. Austerity allows capitalism to bloom and private sectors creep into control of our public sector. For example, privatisation of the national health service, a re-occurring subject discussed within the house of commons to date. Austerity measures generally increase unemployment as government spending falls. The system of austerity is one which was implemented on the basis of inequality, this affecting the most vulnerable individuals within society, whilst leaving the higher socio-economic group unharmed.
“Low position in the social status hierarchy is painful to most people, so it comes as no surprise to find out that the use of illegal drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin is more common in more unequal society’s” (Pickett, K. Wilkinson, R. ,2010 p.70)
As deliberated within the spirit level, a comprehensive resource by Pickett et Wilkinson, it confers dialogue based on inequality with the opening quote expressing, “It is a remarkable paradox that at the pinnacle of human material and technical achievement we found ourselves anxiety ridden, prone to depression, worried about how others see us, unsure of our friendships, driven to consume and with little or no community life, lacking the relaxed social contact and emotional satisfaction we all need, we seek comfort in over eating, obsessive shopping and spending, or become prey to excessive alcohol, psychoactive medicines and illegal drugs”.(2009, P.3) this looks into the sheer basis of our society and its impact on us as individuals, in relation to the socio-economic climate vs wellbeing, with a lucrative prospect through globalisation and progression of both human materials and achievement within a technical sector, the wellbeing of society is still at an all-time low. When identifying poverty levels and the significant links between this and inequality, it has been identified that the United Kingdom is the fourth most unequal country in the world, where the richest twenty percent get seven times as much as the poorest twenty percent. This is a clear visual representation of the gap between the rich and the poor. (Pickett et Wilkinson 2009.P17)
Main Implications for Social Work
“Substance use and mental health are at the same time both old and new; since prehistoric times and the dawn of human civilization people have sought out and cultivated mind-altering substances” Gossop 2007, Shiner 2009 (2016, quoted in Hill, Penson, Charura, P.11).The phrase dual diagnosis is to describe an individual who is experiencing both a severe mental illness and substance misuse in which both are intimately linked. Coomber et al shows a clear distinction as to why individuals within society consume substances, and this is explained as, “Explanations for why people take drugs are typically based on individuals biological and psychological traits, or are located within the historical, economic, social and cultural contexts in which an individual or social group is situated” (2013, p.13). As a society we hide behind problems often using substances to hide issues in which we are facing.
Continuing from coombers distinction of why individuals consume substances, Rethink have created a toolkit in which practitioners and professionals can use when working with dual diagnosis. The report delves into explanations why many service users take drugs this is explained by Hawkins et al stating “Some may enjoy the experience, wish to improve their sex life or hope to lose weight. Others who are socially excluded may find a sense of community with other drug users. For some, drug taking may be an escape from too much pressure. For others, it may be that boredom; peer pressure or a lack of opportunity is a trigger. Either way, it can be all too easy to create a vicious circle whereby using to escape problems only creates more problems and hence a greater need to escape”. (2004, P.10) This shows that there are various reasons behind why individuals consume substances through all economic, social and political factors. The ideology of alcohol is that it is a reward for achieving something. Many millennials spend their Friday nights in the pub after work as a ‘ready for the weekend’ thought. Although many people do consume alcohol in a healthy manner and responsible way, many individuals who are facing severe mental health problems may misuse alcohol through drinking exceedingly to have a short- or long-term impact on their perception of reality, and to suppress any negative thoughts they may have.
When defining drugs, there are four broad pharmacological categories of drugs. These include Stimulants, also known as uppers. These are drugs in which make an individual feel more energetic, and often cause people to stay up for long periods of time. An example of this is cocaine, caffeine and amphetamines. Secondly are depressants, also known as downers. These are drugs that make the consumer less aware of the vents around them, for example Codeine, Heroin, Alcohol and Valium. Thirdly are hallucinogens. These are psychedelics drugs in which distort the senses and the individual’s perception of events. Examples of these drugs include Lsd, Magic Mushrooms and PCP. Fourth and finally is deliriants. These are substances in which produce a dissociative effect between both mind and body. Examples of these drugs are Solvents and Ketamine. Through defining the key four categories of substances, both legal and illegal, it is clear to see as to why substance misuse and mental health go hand in hand.
The problematic issue in which social work is faced with dual diagnosis is the aspect of diagnosing an individual of this illness. The issues in which are faced when diagnosing dual diagnosis are that more often than not, substance abuse induces psychiatric symptoms. This makes it crucial to segregate a substance misuse induced and a pre-existing mental illness. There are limited services in which are provided to individuals struggling with dual diagnosis and this is due to, again, difficulty in diagnosis leaving individuals without access to services this can make it considerably hard for social workers working with a service user as the level of signposting in which can be done is significantly limited. A report conducted by the recovery partnership, namely the state of the sector report, documents the significant apprehensions about the deteriorating ability of the substance misuse sector in relation to meeting the needs of the vulnerable service users who access these services. The 2015 report states statistics finding “councils are part way through a process of reductions of funding that will ultimately lead to a reduction in overall funding of around 25% by 2015-16.” (2014, P.7) The challenges around resourcing safe and high-quality services within today’s society for vulnerable adults still remain, and these services are crucial for many people. Cuts in funding have caused considerable disruptions to service delivery. Blenheim (2016, S.3) “indicated that over the last five years up to 50% of the funding for substance misuse services has been cut. The impact of cuts can include; larger caseloads, declining access to workforce development, limited core services, less outreach, less access to employment, training and education provision, and less capacity to respond to complex needs”.
Practice Implications
A rights based and public health approach towards substance misuse is harm reduction. Harm reduction incorporates polices, strategies, services and programmes in which aim to reduce the negative health, social and economic harms that drug use poses to our society, community and vulnerable individuals. The ideology behind harm reduction is to prioritise reducing harm for drug use rather than attempting to completely stop the use of drugs completely, harm reduction is the understanding that substance misuse can have significant damaging effects on an individual but stresses that issues need to be addressed instead of drug use harm being ignored and this causing decline. The government launched its drug strategy stance in 2017. The application of this strategy in which the government has invoked sets out how new action in terms of tackling drug misuse and tackling the harm in which drug use causes within society. A review of this strategy produced by Drug Science explain that “The briefing delves into the challenges in funding environment which has and will continue to have a disproportionate impact on harm reduction services “and that “Political and financial support for harm reduction have sharply declined in England.” (2017. P. 4). The report continues to identify clear funding cuts with “The Kings Fund, has shown that a further £22 million is likely to be cut from drug services over the next year” (2017. P.3). It is clear to see from this critical review that the services in which the most vulnerable, stigmatised and marginalised individuals in society access are being faced with significant budget cuts. The implementation of future budget cuts being announced adds additional strain to these crucial services.
Harm reduction services such as the loop are key within our society to date, a service in which works with individuals on the streets of England in pop up formation enables service users to test their drugs to ensure they are safe for consumption, the service also educates individuals on what the safest way to consume the substance. This is a significant key concept of harm reduction being implemented throughout the uk and also at festivals enabling service users to be educated in how to be safe using drugs. Needle and syringe programmes have already been severely hit by austerity-led budget cuts, with a large number of drops in sites closing and many others being forced to then streamline their services within the community. At a significant time when harm reduction should be intensified within society in respondence to reports claiming the highest rates of drug related deaths ever recorded within the United Kingdom with statistics claiming “In 2016 that 2593 registered deaths in England and Wales’s (2018, P.1) were recorded in relation to substance misuse this shows the sheer difficulty that services are up against. With further budget cuts, this can lead to rises in drug related illnesses, such as Hepatitis C, HIV and a significant burden on our NHS and emergency services within the country. The cuts in which vulnerable individuals are faced shows clear impediment onto human rights , in article two the right to life it clearly states that “the Government should take appropriate measures to safeguard life by making laws to protect you and, in some circumstances, by taking steps to protect you if your life is at risk” Equality and human Rights Commission (2018, P.1) with budget cuts being forced it seems that many marginalised individual’s within society will have their independent human rights constricted.
Recommendations
The recommendations in which the author would enforce around this report are based around budgets and the implementation of services within communities. As mentioned within drug sciences review of the drug strategy 2017 created by the uk government , it is key to see that budget cuts have played a significant role on the implementation of services within communities with statistics stating that “we know that currently at least 10% of local authorities are not supplying it to high-risk opioid users in their areas, and coverage in some areas is not always extensive enough” (n.d. P.2). this evidence the ideology in which the author is bringing as a recommendation, as it is clear to see that areas are lacking or there of any harm reduction services. In addition to this a recommendation in which the author would make is for harm reduction services to be funded adequality and to be based on an approach which is person centred. More services such as the volunteered ran service The loop need to be implemented onto the streets of Britain, the loop is a service in which provides drug testing and interventions with individuals taking drugs. The services enable testing of the drugs in which individual is taking to ensure they at a safe level and to educate individual themselves knows what a safe dosage to take the drug in. This is a substantial level of harm reduction which is now being implemented not only in pop up places around the uk but at festivals also. The author believes that more services like the loop need to be implemented in schools, communities and in public campaigns to reduce drug overdose deaths particularly when the creation of new psychoactive drugs are dominating the streets.
The author recommends stronger prohibition of trade and street dealing of drugs such as cocaine, mdma, heroin and ketamine, the author recommends this based on the recent national health service statistics stating that “In 2016 there were 2,593 registered deaths in England and Wales related to drug misuse. This is an increase of 5 per cent on 2015 and 58 per cent higher than 2006” this shows how drug use has increased on an unprecedented level and the need for higher levels of prohibition to reduce levels of trade and tackling street dealers supplying these substances needs to be implemented now as in five years what will these figures show if change doesn’t happen. Lastly the final recommendation in which the author will be discussing is around how social work practice can implement change within the issues discusses in the report. The author recommends more inter agency working between social work practice and harm reduction and many other substance misuse services, this includes the government implementing training for these services together on dual diagnosis and harm reduction to enable a positive working relationship between both services.
2018-12-17-1545065424