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Glasgow (pte023/03.02.2005/10:30) - Regular heroin users may be able to lead a normal life, according to Scottish researchers. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, a study be the Glasgow Caledonian University http://www.gcal.ac.uk of 126 users of the class A drug found that many of them were holding down normal jobs and relationships and passing exams. According to their report, heroin could be taken in a controlled way for an extended period without the health problems normally associated with its use. However, the study has infuriated anti-drug campaigners, who say that the findings send out the wrong message.
"Anyone reading this who thinks they can take heroin safely would be wrong," said Alistair Ramsay of Scotland Against Drugs. "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. The chances are that the vast majority of those who start taking heroin are not going to be able to function and rather, they will develop major problems which require to be funded by the public purse," he added.
The research was carried out by David Shewan and his colleague Phil Dargano and was funded by the Chief Scientist Office. The 126 people they studied in Glasgow had been taking heroin for an average of seven years and were not receiving treatment for their drug use. Most of those involved in the study were in a relationship and a third of them had children. Three quarters of the sample group were employed and a third were placed at the top end of the job sector. 64 per cent of the people surveyed had continued in education after secondary school and 11 per cent were in full-time education at the time of the research. Only 15 per cent of the group were unemployed and a meagre five per cent had no educational qualifications. In general, the group seemed reasonably happy with their level of physical health, with almost 48 per cent describing their health as good, and just seven per cent describing it as bad or fairly bad.
"This report isn't saying that heroin is safe. It says that if you have a job, if you have a house, an income, are well educated and have a health system to support you, it's possible to survive an addiction to a pretty serious substance," said Victor Adebowale, chief executive of specialist alcohol and drug organisation Turning Point. Although Shewan, the study's author, agreed with Minister's complaints that heroin was not a safe drug, he said that the study showed that the chemical properties of specific substances, including heroin, should not be assumed to inevitably lead to addictive and destructive patterns of use. "Drug research should incorporate this previously hidden population to more fully inform and practice. Psychological and social factors have to be taken into account when looking at how to deal with any form of addiction, including heroin addiction," he said.
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