Make drug treatment more intelligent
Drugs treatment should be located within a public health framework that emphasizes both clinical treatment and the wider support services that enable people to overcome dependency: housing, education, employment, child care and family support.
‘Treatment’ is too narrow a term to denote the wide range of services that are required by people experiencing problems with drugs. The word has a clinical air and suggests that these services are limited to medical provision. In fact, problematic drug users often have a wide variety of problems—with money, unemployment, relationships, housing—all of which need addressing alongside any physical or mental health issues.
Much of the medical and psychotherapeutic help that is provided through the treatment system may be wasted if the other kinds of support are not provided.'