Mission

As a postgraduate researcher at Cardiff University I have been conucting research, at the localised level, and found that disparities between health board region and even adjoining districts are unaceptable. In one area an individuals may access drug treatment (which for many is THE first step towards recovery) within days. In Cardiff in 2006 it was 2 years. In 2010 it is 26 weeks, an improvement but still unacceptable. There appears to be an assumption in Cardiff that all users will eventually end up in treatment because of offending behaviour i.e. they are fast-tracked via DIP or the courts. A ridiculous situation because it, for some individuals, is a way to access treatment when they’re at their lowest ebb by getting themselves nicked. I have, during four years of research, seen this used as a strategy by seriously desperate people. The system itself, in this configuration, is a cause of crime.
As a person in recovery I find this a seriously disturbing state of affairs. The one beacon of light I have seen develop over the last six or seven years is the emergence of a service user led community that is no longer willing to remain as passive objects, with the system treating/doing as it pleases to individuals who require swift access to resources and support. We now subjectify ourselves as citizens who have every right to expect to be treated (where neccessary) promptly and with dignity. Were it not for the flexible substance misuse service with whom I deal, I would never have been able to complete a degree, go on to attain an MsC and now, as an overly mature student, be conducting PhD level research. The flexibility of this team can be traced back to the culture of management that has been imbued with a “can do” philosophy rather than an organisation that acts as part of the punishment process. Are we not punished enough for the decisions that got us in a mess in the first place? The recovery walk in Glasgow, (as did the All Wales Service User Group conference held in Wrexham in June this year), demonstrates the broad range of skills and commitment that recovering addicts at all stages of recovery can deploy.
We, as service users or those in late or early recovery can make a difference by demonstrating the human potential and the value of “recovery capital”. that has been amassed since the emergence of service user group involvement. It should be a priority of services to encourage and fund service user groups ensuring their concerns are fed back into broader policy debate and action.
As things stand and with a new government in Westminster we must fight our corner and ensure that funding cuts do not throw drug treatment back into the dark ages. The recovery walk will hopefully attract national media attention…I’m certainly writing to all the journalists I know who cover health, crime, and social policy and if anyone reading this does happen to have contacts within the media I urge you to use them. Media images of sterotypes have done as much damage as any 6am visit from the police. With the likes of Transform Drug Policy Forum and the Beckly Foundation there is the potential for the publication of a “reformist” discourse that takes into account any statement made about the failure of prohibition and enforcement makes you “pro-drug”. That is simply not the case. Prohibition has failed and we need, with input from service user groups, to develop a new language with which to conduct the debate. After all, who knows more about drugs than the people who use them?
Lastly, I would like to point out that the use of heroin and crack cocaine has actually levelled off with the average age of those in treatment now being over 30. Drugs, as they function now, fill the void created by unemploymeny, social exclusion in all its guises, housing, and poverty. It’s no coincidence that in the early 80s heroin use exploded as unemployment trebbled. We need politicians who can see the whole picture not just reports they agree with. Sorry for banging on a bit but these are uncertain times that require action.