Drug agencies working in prisons have to deal with many issues not encountered by their peers in the community. Most significant is that they are based in an institutionalised setting defined by rules and regulations but their is also often…
Tag Archive for prescribing
Druglink article 1996 – Methadone works by Tom Carnwath
In the first Druglink of 1996, an article claimed that methadone had a death rate four times that of heroin. If this is true, the drug field’s response to heroin addiction urgently needs to be reconsidered. However, a brief analysis…
Druglink article 1996 – Live and let die – Is methadone more likely to kill you than heroin? by Russell Newcombe
This article focuses on evidence about opiate-related deaths. More specifically, it examines the statistics for methadone related deaths and compares them with those for heroin. The question posed is, what are the relative mortality risks of using methadone compared to…
Druglink article 1995 – Is there really a London connection? by Andrew Johns
The case for the defence in the exchange of views between Dr John Marks of Widnes and London’s drug dependence specialists, accused by him of killing the British system. Is there really a London connection? (PDF)
Druglink article 1995 – A personal account by Bing Spear
For decades Britain’s most respected drugs official, in retirement ‘Bing’ Spear became a powerful critic of current ,medical and government policy. This is his last public statement, made on his behalf shortly before his death on 9th July. It reveals…
Druglink article 1995 – Who killed the British system? by John Marks
Forced through the health services market to close his drug dependence clinic, John Marks fires his parting shot at the doctors he accuses of having dismantled the ‘British system’ Who killed the British system? (PDF) Additional keywords: heroin prescribing /…
Druglink article 1994 – Speed on prescription by Richard Pates
In many parts of the country amphetamine use is widespread and much more common than opiate use. The drug is injected and used widely in the sex industry. Risks of injecting-related damage and of HIV and hepatitis spread are considerable…
Druglink article 1992 – Probation, harm reduction, and drug services by Marilyn Bild
This review of a three year project to establish good practice in a probation service explains the difficulty of implementing a harm reduction strategy in the face of services often unattractive to many users and unwilling to cooperate in achieving…
Druglink article 1992 – Drug user deaths up tenfold in Glasgow
‘Virtual unavailability’ of methadone blamed for the deaths in Scotland. Drug user deaths up tenfold in Glasgow (PDF)
Druglink article 1991 – Drug politics in Liverpool: a personal account by Allan Parry
Part one of this two part account described how in the early 80s the Militant-dominated Liverpool City Council adopted a populist ‘war on drugs’ stance to gain support for its confrontation with the Conservative government. Until then seen by his…