Effects of Drugs and Dealing on Families and Communities

“Illegal drugs and the effects of drug dealing, drug use and drug addiction on families/communities”.

Introduction

As part of our introduction to research module, we have been asked to complete an annotated bibliography. The chosen topic we have decided on is ‘illegal drugs and the effects of drug dealing, drug use and drug addiction on families/communities’. The reason we chose this topic is because we are both hoping to become members of An Garda Síochána in the near future. After serving a number of years in the Gardaí we would like to join a specialized area in the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. Researching this topic will give us a better insight into some illegal drugs and their effects on individuals, families and communities. For this task, we have researched websites as well as looking at online journal articles because they are relevant to our topic. 

Baker, S. (2017). What Are the Long-Term Effects of Drug Use on Families?. [online] The Ranch at Dove Tree. Available at: https://ranchatdovetree.com/blog/what-are-the-long-term-effects-of-drug-use-on-families/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

On this website, the author attempts to give us a better understanding into the effects drugs have on individuals and families and how they can cause a lot of strain on people. Reflecting on the disadvantages of drug use, the author explains how drugs can damage families and cause people to drift further away from loved ones. Baker explains how family members create diverse methods for addressing one another and the how the whole family intricacy can move to oblige the new difficulties drugs carry with them. Baker also talks about how drug use can cause a lot of psychological intensity to a person who may be extremely worried about another person who is the drug user, asking questions like where is he? For what reason didn’t he get back home? Baker also describes how this continuous stress on a person who is a drug user can lead to anxiety and depression.

Bates, G. (2017). Drugs and Alcohol Ireland – The drugs situation in Ireland: an overview of trends from 2005 to 2015. – Drugs and Alcohol. [online] Drugsandalcohol.ie. Available at: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27254/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

From this online page, it is estimated that a drug user in Ireland will die each day due to an overdose. Geoff Bates, an author with ‘Centre for Public Health’ at Liverpool John Moore’s University examines deaths that have been drug related recording that between 2005-2014, 6,266 people lost their lives due to drugs. This is extremely disappointing because all of these deaths could have been easily avoided. The author presents a summary of patterns in the drugs circumstance in Ireland over a period of a decade referring to drug related deaths, drug related infectious diseases and drug supply and crime. Bates delves deep into the high risk of using drugs and the vulnerable groups who may fall into drug using such as prisoners or youths.

Boys, A., Marsden, J. and Strang, J. (2001). Understanding reasons for drug use amongst young people: a functional perspective. Health Education Research, [online] 16(4), pp.457-469. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/her/article/16/4/457/558793 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

The authors from this journal examined the reasons behind young people taking drugs. Boys, Marsden and Strang did a study on 364 young people who had taken drugs during their lives. From the research, the authors found that the youths had taken drugs to unwind (96.7%), become intoxicated (96.4%), keep alert around evening time while with others (95.9%), improve a task they were undergoing (88.5%) and to overcome a discouraged state of mind (86.8%). This study clearly shows us that young people’s mental health is being affected and they are reaching out to drugs to relieve stress and anxiety they have. From our acknowledgment of this research, it should assist instructors and drug councillors make health messages about drugs more relevant and appropriate to general and specific gatherings of people.

Brennan, C. (2018). Drugs in Ireland – what did we take before, what are we taking now?. [online] TheJournal.ie. Available at: https://www.thejournal.ie/drugs-ireland-statistics-4222407-Sep2018/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

Drugs in Ireland, especially of the illegal assortment have expanded consistently as of late, yet the insights propose that the sorts of substances we’re taking haven’t generally changed according to the author Cianan Brennan of thejournal.ie. Brennan outlines that the most generally utilized unlawful substances are cannabis (weed), ecstasy and cocaine. The author is aware that of those aged between 15-64 who have utilized an unlawful drug in their lifetime has expanded to a huge degree in the course of recent years. In 2003 drug use was at 19% and since then it has spiralled up to 31% in 2015, the latest study revealed. Brennan is outlining the worrying rise of drugs and if this continues the Gardaí could find themselves underpowered to cope with the rise of drugs.

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Fox, T. Oliver, G. and Ellis, S. (2013). The Destructive Capacity of Drug Abuse: An Overview Exploring the Harmful Potential of Drug Abuse Both to the Individual and to Society. ISRN Addiction, [online] 2013, p.1. Available at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2013/450348/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Throughout this website, the authors look at drug misuse from a general viewpoint. Fox, Oliver and Ellis are aware that substance misuse is a wellspring of significant concern, both for the users wellbeing and for society overall. They note that the UK has the most noteworthy rates of recorded illicit drug abuse in the western world with high rates of heroin and cocaine use. The authors note substances that are viewed as destructive are entirely controlled by an order framework that considers the damages and dangers of taking each drug. Experienced authors, they see drug misuse can be thought of in three sections that together decide the general mischief in taking it: (1) the immediate physical damage of the substance to the individual user (2) the inclination of the medication to incite reliance and (3) the impact of the drug on families, networks, and society.

Freese, T., Miotto, K. and Reback, C. (2002). The effects and consequences of selected club drugs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, [online] 23(2), pp.151-156. Available at: https://www.journalofsubstanceabusetreatment.com/article/S0740-5472(02)00267-2/abstract [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

From this online journal, the authors, Freese, Miotto and Reback discuss the less hardened drugs such as ecstasy, acid, ketamine and methamphetamine which are also known as ‘recreational drugs’ that are most commonly used at social gatherings such as festival’s. The authors explain that despite the fact that the pharmacological arrangements of these medications change, MDMA has basic a likenesses to both amphetamine (central nervous system drug) and the stimulant mescaline (LSD), which people may not realize. Ketamine and acid are linked to anaesthetics (loss of awareness) and methamphetamine (central nervous system drug) which are long-acting stimulants. For us, this is interesting because if working as Gardaí at a festival it shows the link between drugs and the areas of the body the drug is active in.

Hennessy, M. (2018). How the recreational user becomes the small-time dealer in the eyes of the law. [online] TheJournal.ie. Available at: https://www.thejournal.ie/drugs-crime-4219683-Sep2018/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

On this website about how a recreational drug user somehow becomes a small-time dealer, the author outlines to us how the Gardaí recorded 12,000 occurrences of ownership of drugs for individual use and 4,000 for intent to supply in 2017. This article explains that of those caught with drugs, the majority of them stated that they were only ‘recreational users’. The author, Michelle Hennessy states that the ownership of a controlled substance is illegal and punishment for individual use is normally a fine, especially if the substance is cannabis. Most guilty parties in these conditions can steer away from a criminal record, however this recreational use can have increasingly genuine ramifications for an individual in the event that they stray into ‘drug dealing’.

Holland, K. (2016). ‘Dublin’s Heroin problem’. [online] Irishtimes.com. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dublin-s-heroin-problem-1.2608877 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

In this online newspaper article, Kitty Holland, an experienced social affairs correspondent points out the problems with heroin in Dublin with over 3,000 injecting addicts per month. Holland looks at the issues with not just using heroin but with the equipment that is been used to inject oneself such as abandoned needles, empty bottles and used tin foil. Holland recalls that at least one person will unnecessarily die from an overdose every day in Ireland which is frightening in our eyes. The author adds that there are many places in Dublin that are being used frequently such as Dublin Castle, Grafton street and Temple bar which are usually always filled with people most of the time.

Horton, G. (2019). The Impact of Substance Abuse and Addiction on Families – Behavioral Health Of The Palm Beaches. [online] Behavioral Health Of The Palm Beaches. Available at: https://www.bhpalmbeach.com/recovery-articles/impact-substance-abuse-and-addiction-families/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2019].

In this article, the author explains how the substance abuser and their families suffer together, with the families sometimes suffering just as much as the abuser themselves. Although the abuser will suffer major physical effects, the family often share the emotional and mental effects of the addiction. The author also looks at how the structure of the family can affect how much of an impact that the addiction has on the family. Horton explains that a single parent family with the parent suffering from the use of illegal drugs can be a lot more detrimental than a family with a parent who does not engage in this activity. She concludes that every member of the immediate family is affected in some way or another.

Rsa.ie. (2017). RSA.ie – Anti Drug Driving. [online] Available at: http://www.rsa.ie/RSA/Road-Safety/Campaigns/Current-road-safety-campaigns/Anti-Drug-Driving/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

Drugs have a massive impact on one’s ability to drive. The road safety authority’s (RSA) website states that it has been an offence to drive under the influence of drugs since the introduction of the road traffic act 1961. However, the new drug driving laws came into place on the 13^th April 2017.  Driving on drugs affects the driver in a way that he/she will not have proper control over the car. Referring back to the website, drugs can have a massive effect on driving. Drugs can slow down the driver’s reaction time and harm their visibility to see the road clearer. This is very useful information for us as hopefully some day we will be able to conduct road side drug tests on people who are driving illegally.