NCJ Number
195861
Journal
International Journal of Drug Policy Volume: 12 Issue: 5/6 Dated: December 1, 2001 Pages: 385-396
Date Published
December 2002
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses some of the implications of the longitudinal study of drug use from adolescence into young adulthood by a cohort of English youth (Williams and Parker, see NCJ-195862), which found "a remarkable consistency in ongoing drug taking."
Abstract
They found no evidence of decreasing drug use, but also "certainly no evidence of an increase." Overall, the data suggest a continuation and stability of drug use well into young adulthood. Young adults have apparently, according to this study, integrated controlled drug use and personal responsibility into their highly active lifestyles and "work hard, play hard" ethos. The reasonableness of this choice is consistent with the risk society and "runaway world" sociological theories, if not with dominant institutionalized drug policies. One of the more intriguing findings of the cohort study was that the regular drug users had changed their minds about cocaine powder since the last measurement. This change of mind resulted in a steep increase in lifetime prevalence from 5.7 percent to 24.6 percent. Williams and Parker explain this increase partly in terms of drug market factors such as cheaper price and wider availability. A holistic approach to drug policy development should involve sensitivity to the social context of drug use and a commitment to address the more difficult issues of underlying syndromes instead of surface symptoms. Future policy-oriented research should focus on changing social processes and how drug-use patterns are embedded within them. 18 references