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INTRODUCTION In this final chapter of the book, we reflect on what has been found from the results of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) program as a whole. We briefly review the main findings from each chapter and consider the themes that have emerged. We also discuss what has happened to the NEW-ADAM program in the United Kingdom and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program in the United States since their demise. Finally, we consider some of the policy and research implications of the study. SUMMARY In Chapter 2, we discussed the research methods used in the NEW-ADAM program and described the method of urine collection and the personal interview. Arrestees were selected by a system of two-stage sampling with the first stage based on purposive rather than random sampling. We noted some of the limitations of the research including the considerable difficulties of interviewing arrestees in the chaotic conditions of police custody suites. Arrestees were often highly agitated, and some were potentially violent having been free on the streets just hours before interview. Despite these barriers, the research team succeeded in interviewing more than 4,500 arrestees during the research period and collected urine samples from almost all of them. Chapter 3 examined the prevalence and incidence of drug misuse among arrestees. The results presented in the chapter provide evidence for the first time in the United Kingdom of the high levels of involvement of arrestees in drug misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses treatment needs of arrestees and treatment methods provided for drug misuse. In particular, it looks at treatment offered by traditional programs aimed at drug users who voluntarily present themselves and treatment offered through court orders or other criminal justice processes whereby treatment for drug misuse as part of the disposal. The former is sometimes referred to as ‘voluntary’ treatment in that they are based on self-referral. The latter is sometimes described as ‘coercive treatment’ in that they are based on referral to treatment by the criminal justice system. One of the central platforms of the government's drug strategy is to tackle drug misuse and drug-related crime through treatment provision. To be effective, the strategy needs to encourage users who have not sought treatment to enter into treatment. It also needs to satisfy the demand for treatment of users who have sought treatment. It is also important that drug users enter into treatment programs that have been shown in the past to reduce drug misuse or drug-related crime. This chapter reviews the literature on the type of treatment services available and user demand for these services. It then looks at the level of demand for treatment among drug-using arrestees and the extent to which this demand is met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION The relationship between gender and drug use has been referred to as ‘the big neglected question’ in the field of substance misuse (Measham, 2003, p. 22). Historically, the addiction literature has focused on male drug users, and less attention has been given to the problems of female users (Neale, 2004a). During the 1990s, this focus began to change, and female drug users became a topic of interest among researchers (Broom, 1994). However, it did not wholly answer the question of whether there were gender differences in drug misuse (Broom, 1994). As a result, relatively little research was done on the broader issue of whether women and men were fundamentally different in any way in the characteristics of their drug misuse and the problems associated with it. Nevertheless, information relating to gender differences is now emerging. Recent research has shown that female and male drug users differ in terms of the nature of their drug use and in associated problems, including patterns of drug use (Neale, 2004a), the development of drug-use careers (Kandel, 2000), drug-use initiation (Eaves, 2004), and treatment outcomes (Hser, Huang, Teruya, and Anglin, 2004). These findings are important and suggest that both the nature of the problem and the nature of the solution might be different for women and men. However, the number of studies investigating any single issue within this broad area is small and the results obtained so far are contradictory (Hser et al., 2004). Hence, generalization is difficult and few definitive findings have emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION There is surprisingly little research in the United Kingdom on drug misuse and associated problems among members of ethnic minority groups. In 1998, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (1998) reported that the influence of ethnicity on illicit drug use in the United Kingdom was an ‘under-researched topic’ (p. 25). This lack of information on ethnicity and drugs also has been reported in other countries. Fountain and colleagues (2004) noted the following in relation to Europe: In several European Union countries drug use amongst black and minority ethnic communities is largely unacknowledged, ignored, unrecognised, or hidden by some policy-makers, drugs researchers, drug service planners and commissioners and by some members of some black and minority ethnic communities themselves. (p. 362) Rounds-Bryant, Motivans, and Pelissier (2003) claimed that even in studies where ethnic minorities had been included, many investigators fail to report findings for individual ethnic groups. Others have criticized drug research for focusing on some ethnic groups and ignoring others (Fountain, Bashford, Winters, and Patel, 2003). The absence of research in this area has been attributed in part to the differing cultural values of ethnic groups. Reid, Crofts, and Beyer (2001) state that illicit drug use in minority ethnic communities is often associated with denial, shame, stigma, and loss of face. As a result, there might be some reluctance among researchers to investigate these sensitive topic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION The New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) program was based on surveys of arrestees currently held for official processing, typically in relation to a suspected offense, in police custody suites in England and Wales. The research methods were similar to those used in the early version of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program in the United States and in other International Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (I-ADAM) programs. The main methods of data collection were structured face-to-face interviews and collection of urine specimens suitable for urinalysis. It should be noted that the main features of the research design were outlined in the specifications for the research prepared by the Home Office. Some of these criteria emerged from the experience gained during the two developmental stages of the research. Other criteria, such as the overall budget and scale of the research, were determined from the outset by the Home Office based on financial and policy considerations. Hence, the final research design comprised a combination of elements generated by the Home Office and the research team. SAMPLES Sampling method The NEW-ADAM surveys used two-stage sampling. In the first stage, 16 sites were selected using a method of ‘purposive’ sampling of custody suites. In the second stage, approximately 210 arrestees were interviewed in each site. The decision to include 16 first-stage sampling points and 210 second-stage cases was influenced in part by practical aspects of conducting the research. These are discussed in more detail later in the chapter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION A wide variety of health problems can be experienced by drug users including dependency, infectious diseases, harmful physiological effects of certain drugs, and risk of overdose and death. These problems are important not only for the individual drug user but also for those people (such as the police) who come into regular contact with them. They are also important in that they increase the burden on the health service and its personnel, including general practitioners and hospital-based services. PREVIOUS RESEARCH Previous research on the health problems of drug misusers has tended to focus on the problem of dependency and addiction. However, research has also been conducted on general health problems, the prevalence of injection and sharing equipment, the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV and AIDS, and the link between drug use and alcohol and tobacco consumption. General health problems Drug side effects. Most drugs that are commonly misused can cause short-term negative effects on mental and physical functioning. Heroin can produce various kinds of physiological change including dry mouth, drowsiness, impaired mental functioning, and slowed breathing. At high dosages, heroin consumption can lead to respiratory failure. Chronic users can develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining, abscesses, and liver disease. Street heroin is often mixed with various substances, including sugar, starch, and some poisons that may also have harmful physiological effects. Cocaine use can cause constricted blood vessels, increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION In 1999, the UK government allocated £6 million of new money for research and information gathering in support of the government's strategy to reduce drug-related crime. Part of the £6 million was used to set up a national program of research to investigate drug use and crime among arrestees. In July 1999, after two developmental stages, a program of arrestee monitoring was established in the United Kingdom under the title of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) program. The program was designed primarily to collect urine specimens and to conduct personal interviews with recently arrested offenders to understand better the nature of the drug-crime connection. The surveys were also to provide information on related issues, such as use of weapons and guns in crime, gang membership, and drug markets. The program was initially funded to run for three years with the view of continuing funding subject to review. The broad aim of this book is to present the findings of the NEW-ADAM surveys. Some of the results of the NEW-ADAM program have already been published in government reports and in articles in peer-reviewed journals. However, other findings have not yet been published. As a result, the findings of the NEW-ADAM program have not been fully documented in a single source. This book brings together the results of the NEW-ADAM program in a single volume by summarizing the findings of previously published papers and presenting new findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]