Pubdate: Thu, 03 Feb 2005
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2005 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Debbie Andalo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

ANGER OVER 'HARMLESS HEROIN' STUDY

A new study claiming that heroin can be taken without damaging health
or job prospects has been condemned by drug addiction groups.

Researchers said the study proved that some users of the class A drug
can find work, hold down a job and achieve educational qualifications
which compare to non-drug users.

The study was based on 126 long-term heroin users who were not in
treatment recruited in Glasgow over a four-year period. All had used
opiates at least 10 times in the past two years, and had been using
heroin for seven years.

Of those users, the majority were married, 74% were employed and 64%
had gone into higher or further education. Only 5% had no educational
qualifications and 15% were unemployed.

David Shewan from Glasgow Caledonian University, who carried out the
research with colleague Phil Dalgarno, said the findings exposed a
hidden population of drug users who have previously been ignored.

He said: "The important thing about the study is that it shows while
there are heroin users with problems, there are also heroin users
without problems.

"These people are mostly ordinary people - they are not the Keith
Richards of the world - and there could be an element of good fortune
in the group studied.

"The concept of controlled drug use is still a largely unexplored area
of drug research and these results should be treated with caution, as
heroin is certainly not a safe drug.

"Drug research should incorporate this previously hidden population to
more fully inform theory and practice, and psychological and social
factors have to be taken into account when looking at how to deal with
any form of addiction."

The research was condemned by drug addiction organisations.

Alistair Ramsay of Scotland Against Drugs warned that the findings
could portray the wrong message.

He said: "Anyone reading this who thinks they can take heroin safely
would be wrong. In Scotland, we have 55,800 heroin users who are
clearly unable to function as normal so it cannot be assumed that the
findings have universal application."

A spokeswoman from the Scottish Drugs Forum said: "The majority of
heavy heroin users go on to develop major problems. However, there
will be a small group of people who are able to use heroin in a
controlled fashion and live a fairly normal life.

"How it affects the user depends on environment, background and
psychology."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake