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Getting drug dealers involved in harm reduction
Ross Coomber, Professor of Sociology and Director, Drug and Alcohol Research Unit, School of Social Science and Social Work, University of Plymouth
Abstract
Drug dealers/sellers are commonly understood as offering
little by way of real benefit to anyone. One of the most demonised of
contemporary folk devils the drug dealer is often portrayed as
uncaring, violent, nasty and predatory and untrustworthy. Elsewhere I
have argued that this image of the drug dealer is unreasonably
singular, that in fact the great variation in personnel and practice
in drug markets means that how drug dealers are commonly perceived is
unhelpful. It is argued that such simple and narrow understandings act
as a barrier to knowing both how drug markets really work and also to
what opportunities there are with some members of the drug using
community such as 'user dealers' - many of whom manage 'communal'
injecting spaces - to become involved in harm reduction interventions.
This presentation will relate some of the issues around a research
project that is looking at how to engage drug dealers/sellers for particular harm reduction interventions.
The presentation will consider why drug dealers might be worthy of
particular focus in this regard; why it is that they are not normally
approached for such interventions and why it is that they would be
considered inappropriate; the difficulties of accessing and recruiting
such individuals will also be discussed along with consideration of
the type of relationship/s that would need to be in place to make such
an intervention sustainable. Finally some preliminary findings - the
benefits/disbenefits and possibilities - from the pilot study
currently underway will be outlined.
TOP
Biography
Ross Coomber is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Drug and Alcohol Research Unit at the University of Plymouth. He has been researching in the 'drugs field' for over 20 years and has published widely on numerous drug related topics such as: how quickly heroin users become addicted users; the cutting of street drugs; understanding drug markets; drugs and violence; drug markets and violence; public injecting; drug use in sport, drugs, stigma and fear, among many others.
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