Essay International Journal of Drug Policy Report Writing – Management Assignment Help

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ABSTRACT

Background: Many efforts have been undertaken to construct an overview of various aspects of illicit drug distribution in the United Kingdom. Yet given that national, regional, and local differences can be profound, this has proven difficult, to the extent that Scotland has been largely excluded from the conversation. In addition, the level of supply being examined, the drug type, and the actors involved only add to confusion and vast differences between some findings.

Method: The current study aims to provide a holistic account, as best as possible considering variations of illegal drug supply in illicit networks, by focusing in on a particular geographical context (Scotland) and addressing drug supply at all levels. It is informed by in-depth interviews with 42 offenders involved in drug distribution from retail to wholesale/middle market to importation levels.

Results: Findings indicate Scotland’s importation and distribution is evolving owing to increasingly adaptive risk mitigation by importers and distributors, and market diversification of both product and demand. While a hierarchical model still dominates the market, commuting or ‘county lines’ and increasing demand for drugs such as cannabis, but also anabolic steroids and psychoactive substances, means that home growing, online purchasing, and street-level dealership is common.

Conclusion: The findings have the capacity to further inform police and practitioners about the diverse and evolving nature of drug distribution in Scotland (with a particular focus on the west of the country), so that they may become more effective in improving the safety and wellbeing of people, places and communities.

Introduction

Illicit drugs are big business and an even bigger public health problem (Stevens, 2011), but research on the ‘realities’ of drug markets is surprisingly thin (Antonopoulos & Papanicolaou, 2010). This is especially true in Scotland, which despite its unique drug problem profile (Casey et al. 2009), has been either neglected by drugs scholars or subsumed under studies of UK–wide drugs markets (e.g., Matrix Knowledge Group, 2007). To address this gap, the current study draws upon interviews with 42 illicit drug suppliers who successfully operated at retail, wholesale or middle, and importation levels of the market in Scotland. Our results provide a holistic view of the characteristics and dynamics of Scotland’s drug market, whilst alerting us that significant changes to this market are already underway. We begin by analysing the extant literature on Scottish drug markets within a UK context.

Literature

review As noted by Coomber (2015), the UK drug market is highly differentiated with no unified market but rather a ‘series of loosely interlinked local and regional markets’ (Pearson & Hobbs, 2001). Drug markets typically are compartmentalized into international (importation), national/regional (wholesale or middle market), and local (retail) levels (Lupton, Wilson, May, Warburton, & Turnbull, 2002; Matrix Knowledge Group, 2007). Local retail markets are further differentiated, however, as open, semi-open (e.g., pub and club-based) and closed, trust-based, markets (May & Hough, 2004). The majority of drugs are sold or distributed in the UK in community settings (Hales & Hobbs, 2010), by non-gang affiliated dealers working within friendship networks (Parker, 2000; Taylor & Potter, 2013), or by individual entrepreneurs ‘going solo’ (Windle & Briggs, 2015a).

The current study Modifications to drugs markets often remain unexplored by scholars long after becoming adopted practice because markets are considerably under-researched. Drug market research is often focused on structural elements, e.g., ‘middle markets’ (Pearson & Hobbs, 2001), retail distribution (DesRoches, 2007), or on a single drug type (Briggs, 2010), thus broad changes at all market levels, or examples of intersectionality, get missed. For example, whilst it is true the internet has disrupted traditional drug markets, online sales remain ‘anchored’ in offline drug markets (Aldridge & Décary-Hétu, 2016) and face-to-face transactions still dictate the vast majority of retail-level transactions, especially with regard to heroin and crack cocaine, which have a distinct consumer profile (Coomber, 2015). Thus, acquiring an aggregate view of UK, or Scottish, drug markets can be complicated, often only surfacing via general prevalence survey or government report every ten years (e.g., Bennett & Holloway, 2005).