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British Experience With Heroin Regulation

NCJ Number
117177
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 299-314
Author(s)
T Bennett
Date Published
1988
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the history of heroin and opioid regulation in Great Britain from 1926 to the present.
Abstract
The British approach originated with 1926 Rolleston Committee Report which affirmed the disease model of addiction and suggested that prescribing morphine and heroin was a legitimate form of treatment for addicts under treatment by the gradual reduction method and for indefinite and prolonged administration for those with untreatable withdrawal symptoms and those capable of leading a fairly normal and useful life. For nearly 40 years, the medical profession regulated the distribution of licit opioids and the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920 and 1923 controlled illicit drug supplies. During the 1950's a small increase in illegal drug use resulted in the establishment of a clinic system for drug treatment and control and subsequent revision of drug laws that made distribution and possession of a wide range of drugs an offense punishable by imprisonment. The present era, commencing in the mid-1970's, saw a shift to a treatment-oriented approach in which doctors began prescribing oral methadone rather than injectable heroin and treatment emphasized a short, rapid reduction in drug use rather than maintenance. Increasing drug use in the 1980's prompted additional policy changes that placed much less emphasis on the medical profession as a source of official control, focusing instead on increased drug law enforcement, detoxification services, and voluntary self-help and rehabilitation programs. 108 footnotes.

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