Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The data provided by the NDTRS in Section 4.6 show that a large proportion of newcrack cocaine cases live in unstable accommodation, such as prisons, halfway houses,homeless hostels, or bed and breakfasts. In addition, of the 24 treatment and socialservices that had recent experience with crack users, 16 had dealt with homelessindividuals who used crack. A drug-treatment service specifically targeting thehomeless in the north-inner city estimated that just under one-third of its clients wereusing crack (15 users approximately). In many cases of homelessness, the financialdemands of sustaining a crack habit could eventually lead to a crack user’s expulsionfrom the family home due to stealing.They’re put out of the home due to stealing ... behaviours that they’ve left behind for a long,long time are resurfacing. Resurfacing very quickly.Clondalkin, drug-treatment service (October 2007)But he started off doing, smoking hash and poppers kind of thing, then he started smokinggear, doing coke, and he’s ended up on crack you see, so… and he ended up homelessbasically. He’d a bay up there and stuff, he owns the bay, but his family are still there, hisparents and stuff, and he’s basically with his wife sleeping in a lift because they were smokingcrack and selling everything under them, and… robbing their family and stuff… But that’sonly one case I know of, there’s many more like.Ballymun, outreach worker (December 2007)Eviction from private rented accommodation for not paying rent was another reportedpath to homelessness:A lot of them would end up homeless. You know because like a lot of our client group wouldbe in private rented accommodation if they are not living at home with their parents. If theyare living at home with their parents, their parents are just getting to the stage where theyjust can’t take anymore … when they’re using heroin they would have maybe stole the oddamount of stuff from their family but with crack and cocaine it was just a constant thing.You know there was things missing constantly. The amount of aggression that was goingon in the house. The family would just eventually have to ask them to leave. They becomehomeless. The people who would be in rented accommodation, they just wouldn’t pay theirrent. You know there is only so much a private landlord will [take] – like with Dublin CityCouncil [DCC] they work with you. You know if you are in rental you have to pay it off orwhatever. You know they [DCC] are kind of obliged to do that. Whereas a private landlordisn’t.Dublin 12, drug-treatment service (October 2007)Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy79
7.3 EmploymentThe typical user known to treatment services is a heroin-dependent polydrug user.The lifestyles of such users appear to be too chaotic to sustain a legitimate sourceof income; as a result, only 6% of new crack cocaine cases were in paid employment(Table 7.1).Table 7.1 Employment status of new cases of crack cocaine use, 2004 to 2006Employment status Number %In paid employment 2 5.7Unemployed 20 57.1FÁS scheme or other training course 1 2.9Retired/unable to work/disability 10 28.6Not known 2 5.6Total 35 100.0Among the study’s sample of current or former users, the majority were in receipt ofsocial welfare and/or committing theft and shoplifting, drug dealing and prostitution tofund their habit.Money difficulties, relationships with people, kids, you don’t have your kids because yourhouse is gone to bits, your bills will go to bits, if you won’t pay them you lose your house. Ifyou have a job, you’re lucky to keep your job, because you can’t be responsible to do anythingyou know. You just want the drug and people going in and out of jobs, you know. They wouldsell anything and that is the truth.north-inner city, drug-treatment service (September 2007)Evidence from the in-depth interviews suggests that crack users who were in paidemployment used crack in a limited, more controlled manner – spending only theirwages and benefits to fund their crack use, or using crack in a binge fashion at theweekend or on their days off. One service provider reported that most employed crackusers attending treatment services were self-employed:What I get paid from here, and my social welfare payments as well. I don’t rob, that’s allfinished with. I wouldn’t go to prison for the sake of drugs again. That’s just not an option. Ihad no contact with my daughter for 10 years. And I’m after getting all that back and I kindof wanted to stop the circle if you know what I mean with her.north-east Dublin, current crack user (October 2007)80 Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy
Page 1 and 2:
HRB Research Series6Crack cocaine i
Page 3 and 4:
This publication should be cited as
Page 5 and 6:
HRB Research Series publicationsto
Page 8 and 9:
ContentsList of tables and figures
Page 10 and 11:
7 Social consequences of crack use
Page 12 and 13:
List of tables and figuresTablesTab
Page 14 and 15:
AbbreviationsADRUGNDUHRBISCCSGLDTFN
Page 16 and 17:
Glossary of termsBenzos: The street
Page 18 and 19:
Executive summaryBackground and stu
Page 20 and 21:
phone and buyers are directed to sp
Page 22 and 23:
Part 1IntroductionCrack cocaine in
Page 24 and 25:
In the light of these concerns, it
Page 26 and 27:
extensive reporting in the US about
Page 28 and 29:
Ten interviews were conducted with
Page 30 and 31: also offers potential to trace supp
Page 32 and 33: Part 2Crack cocaine in the Dublin r
Page 34 and 35: 2.2 Criminal justice data - cocaine
Page 36 and 37: Prevalence of crack use among homel
Page 38 and 39: Local survey dataA survey in 2006 o
Page 40 and 41: Respondent 1: I’d say it’s stil
Page 42 and 43: 3 Dublin crack cocaine market3.0 Ov
Page 44 and 45: sold on the street for as little as
Page 46 and 47: Like, I was down on M… Street in
Page 48 and 49: 3.4 Marketing crackFour interviewee
Page 50 and 51: While crack was generally bought al
Page 52 and 53: • Although a number of dealers, o
Page 54 and 55: 4.2 Crack use and genderAccording t
Page 56 and 57: From about 16 to 21 I would say - t
Page 58 and 59: Table 4.4Number of new cases who li
Page 60 and 61: 5.2 Crack and other drugsMany of th
Page 62 and 63: Whether treated cases reported crac
Page 64 and 65: cases of intravenous cocaine use, t
Page 66 and 67: Table 5.5Number (%) of new cases wh
Page 68 and 69: Part 3Consequences of crack useCrac
Page 70 and 71: etween heroin, cocaine and crime. T
Page 72 and 73: So, they would talk about the kind
Page 74 and 75: Crack and prostitutionNine services
Page 76 and 77: On the other hand, reports from two
Page 78 and 79: often with a prevalence of opiate d
Page 82 and 83: But you know it would be about kind
Page 84 and 85: So, debt is another significant iss
Page 86 and 87: 7.6 Key findings• A significant p
Page 88 and 89: There are considerable long-term ps
Page 90: 8.3 Psychological consequences of c
Page 93 and 94: 9 Treating crack use9.0 OverviewIn
Page 95 and 96: Some services were in a position to
Page 97 and 98: Both opiate-dependent and non-opiat
Page 99 and 100: • more outreach work to identify
Page 101 and 102: 10 Policing crack markets10.0 Overv
Page 103 and 104: local communities. There is growing
Page 105 and 106: He’d know me, I’d know him, you
Page 107 and 108: Table 10.1 Number of new cases who
Page 109 and 110: 108 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
Page 111 and 112: 11 Discussion and research implicat
Page 113 and 114: 11.2 Responding to crack markets an
Page 115 and 116: 11.3 Reducing the harm that crack c
Page 117 and 118: Shoplifting, burglary and robbery w
Page 119 and 120: Bourgois P (2003b) Crack and the po
Page 121 and 122: Furey M and Browne C (2004) Opiate
Page 123 and 124: Loughran H and McCann ME (2006) A c
Page 125 and 126: San Diego Police Department (1998)
Page 127 and 128: Appendix A:An evidence base for tre
Page 129 and 130: note that providing information on
Page 131 and 132:
MedicationsA number of studies have
Page 133 and 134:
interpersonal psychotherapy. Americ
Page 135 and 136:
Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
Page 137 and 138:
Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
Page 139 and 140:
Appendix C:Recent HRB series public
Page 141 and 142:
140 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
show all

Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?