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Sitting alongside the official figures referenced in this article, is a narrative in the press of illegal drug use in young people along the lines of “British university campuses face a drugs epidemic” and drug dealers reportedly targeting areas around universities. (1,2)
Ultimately, people have always taken substances for recreational and psychoactive use and illegality has not put a stop to it.(3) Young people using illegal substances for recreational use is nothing new - I draw attention to an article published in The Lancet, reporting illicit drug use increasing in 1996. (4)
Last year, there were two contrasting approaches to address drug use at universities. Firstly, Buckingham University in an attempt to make drug-taking “socially unacceptable" and become a drug-free campus, asked students to sign contacts pledging not to take drugs and started to invite police sniffer dogs onto campus. (5) This announcement came shortly after Sheffield Students’ Union hit the news headlines for providing advice to students on how to take drugs as safely as possible and know how to take all reasonable precautions. (5) If we accept that young people are using drugs and will continue to do so, surely our focus should be on drug harm reduction?
Over the past year, students unions’ across the country have started to offer drug testing kits to students and provide information through sources such as The Loop and DrugsandMe to reduce harm. (6) A recent paper studying the use of drug testing services at music festivals found that the testing service reached harder-to-reach users and can play a part in reducing drug-harm by informing users about concerning substances. (7) These users are unlikely to be long-term addicts and engaging with them at this stage in life could help reduce the negative long term effects of drug use.
Both universities and GPs regularly offer free condoms and sexual health advice to reduce the harm of unprotected sex or reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancies, but I do not think there is a widespread view that this encourages young people to have sex, or even promotes casual sex. Yes, there is a difference between the legality of casual sex and illicit drugs, but do we treat these two issues differently because taking illegal drugs cannot be done in a safe way?
With usage and deaths from drugs on the rise, drug harm reduction should have a place alongside informing people about the health risks and legal implications of the activities they choose to engage in. (7,8) Just like the debate about mental health service provision for young people, who should provide this support – colleges, universities, GPs? However, one thing we can be sure about, is that being “tough on drugs” and advocating total abstinence is not the sole solution.
References
1. Will Fyfe. County lines: Drug dealers “pretend to be uni students” [Internet]. BBC. 2019 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49635077
2. Rodrigues N. Going to pot: British university campuses face a drugs epidemic. The Sunday Times [Internet]. 2019 Sep 22; Available from: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/good-university-guide-2020/good-unive...
3. Godlee F, Hurley R. The war on drugs has failed: doctors should lead calls for drug policy reform. BMJ [Internet]. 2016;355. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6067
4. Webb E, Ashton CH, Kelly P, Kamali F. Alcohol and drug use in UK university students. Lancet [Internet]. 1996 Oct 5;348(9032):922–5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)03410-1
5. Morton B. Drug use: Is Sheffield Students’ Union right to offer advice? [Internet]. BBC. 2018 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45703499
6. Lawton G. Testing kit or ban? How universities are tackling student drug use [Internet]. The Guardian. 2019 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/mar/29/testing-kit-or-ban-how...
7. Measham FC. Drug safety testing, disposals and dealing in an English field: Exploring the operational and behavioural outcomes of the UK’s first onsite ‘drug checking’ service. Int J Drug Policy [Internet]. 2019;67:102–7. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395918302755
8. Iacobucci G. Class A drugs: use by young adults is at 16 year high, figures show. BMJ [Internet]. 2019;366. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l5685
Competing interests:
No competing interests
25 September 2019
Christopher A Morris
Medical Student & Union Affairs Officer, Leeds University Union (2018/19)
Does drug harm reduction have a place?
Sitting alongside the official figures referenced in this article, is a narrative in the press of illegal drug use in young people along the lines of “British university campuses face a drugs epidemic” and drug dealers reportedly targeting areas around universities. (1,2)
Ultimately, people have always taken substances for recreational and psychoactive use and illegality has not put a stop to it.(3) Young people using illegal substances for recreational use is nothing new - I draw attention to an article published in The Lancet, reporting illicit drug use increasing in 1996. (4)
Last year, there were two contrasting approaches to address drug use at universities. Firstly, Buckingham University in an attempt to make drug-taking “socially unacceptable" and become a drug-free campus, asked students to sign contacts pledging not to take drugs and started to invite police sniffer dogs onto campus. (5) This announcement came shortly after Sheffield Students’ Union hit the news headlines for providing advice to students on how to take drugs as safely as possible and know how to take all reasonable precautions. (5) If we accept that young people are using drugs and will continue to do so, surely our focus should be on drug harm reduction?
Over the past year, students unions’ across the country have started to offer drug testing kits to students and provide information through sources such as The Loop and DrugsandMe to reduce harm. (6) A recent paper studying the use of drug testing services at music festivals found that the testing service reached harder-to-reach users and can play a part in reducing drug-harm by informing users about concerning substances. (7) These users are unlikely to be long-term addicts and engaging with them at this stage in life could help reduce the negative long term effects of drug use.
Both universities and GPs regularly offer free condoms and sexual health advice to reduce the harm of unprotected sex or reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancies, but I do not think there is a widespread view that this encourages young people to have sex, or even promotes casual sex. Yes, there is a difference between the legality of casual sex and illicit drugs, but do we treat these two issues differently because taking illegal drugs cannot be done in a safe way?
With usage and deaths from drugs on the rise, drug harm reduction should have a place alongside informing people about the health risks and legal implications of the activities they choose to engage in. (7,8) Just like the debate about mental health service provision for young people, who should provide this support – colleges, universities, GPs? However, one thing we can be sure about, is that being “tough on drugs” and advocating total abstinence is not the sole solution.
References
1. Will Fyfe. County lines: Drug dealers “pretend to be uni students” [Internet]. BBC. 2019 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49635077
2. Rodrigues N. Going to pot: British university campuses face a drugs epidemic. The Sunday Times [Internet]. 2019 Sep 22; Available from: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/good-university-guide-2020/good-unive...
3. Godlee F, Hurley R. The war on drugs has failed: doctors should lead calls for drug policy reform. BMJ [Internet]. 2016;355. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6067
4. Webb E, Ashton CH, Kelly P, Kamali F. Alcohol and drug use in UK university students. Lancet [Internet]. 1996 Oct 5;348(9032):922–5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)03410-1
5. Morton B. Drug use: Is Sheffield Students’ Union right to offer advice? [Internet]. BBC. 2018 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45703499
6. Lawton G. Testing kit or ban? How universities are tackling student drug use [Internet]. The Guardian. 2019 [cited 2019 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/mar/29/testing-kit-or-ban-how...
7. Measham FC. Drug safety testing, disposals and dealing in an English field: Exploring the operational and behavioural outcomes of the UK’s first onsite ‘drug checking’ service. Int J Drug Policy [Internet]. 2019;67:102–7. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395918302755
8. Iacobucci G. Class A drugs: use by young adults is at 16 year high, figures show. BMJ [Internet]. 2019;366. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l5685
Competing interests: No competing interests