Key to understanding drug misuse is an awareness of the full range of models that seek to define, explain and treat the problem. This book covers the full breadth of medical, social and psychological approaches to drug use, while retaining focus on the one question which is seldom asked: What do drug users themselves think?

Based on extensive research, Understanding Drug Misuse offers comprehensive analysis of the diversity of drug-related problems, interwoven with frank - and often challenging - user perspectives. Combining theory and research evidence with extracts from the author's own interviews with drug users, this insightful text explores:

• drug use, drug dependence and discussion of maintenance versus abstinence
• health risks, harm minimization and public health solutions
• social harm, social exclusion, and problems of community safety and crime
• practice implications for harm minimization, treatment, after-care and relapse prevention

With practical guidance that will inform all work directly related to drug policy or practice, Understanding Drug Misuse is an essential text for all students taking modules in substance abuse and addiction studies. It also makes fascinating and fundamental reading for specialist and generic workers in the health, social care and criminal justice professions.

'This is a good book that presents an accessible up-to-date summary of a particular current societal concern and will support many social workers [...] It offers an excellent insight into another world, or at least a specific context of the shared world - one that social workers must increasingly occupy.' - British Journal of Social Work

About the Author
JAN KEENE is an Emeritus Professor of Primary Care at the University of Reading, UK. She is a Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health. She has written four books and 36 papers in the drug misuse field, including population studies, service evaluations and studies of user views.




Reviews
'This is a good book that presents an accessible up-to-date summary of a particular current societal concern and will support many social workers [...] It offers an excellent insight into another world, or at least a specific context of the shared world - one that social workers must increasingly occupy.' - British Journal of Social Work



Book Information
ISBN 9780230202436
Author Jan Keene
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Red Globe Press
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 403g