As you’ve probably noticed, there won’t be one big series of posts on independence this year. Instead, there’ll be shorter three/or four-part series – including revisiting and updating topics I’ve covered in the past.
One of those topics is drug policy and independence, first looked at on the old Oggy Bloggy Ogwr in 2014. Alcohol (IndyWales & Alcohol) and tobacco/nicotine (IndyWales, Smoking & Vaping) have been looked at separately, but for the sake of clarification, this is about controlled/illegal recreational drugs.
To kick things off, a science lesson.
With a better picture of who takes drugs, it’s worth looking into the reasons why people take them.
To have fun (and peer pressure)
This goes without saying.
People enjoy what drugs – even legal ones like alcohol and nicotine – do to them. It’s a neatly packaged and readily accessible way to reproduce the intense physiological response they would only otherwise get from physical experience (exercise, sex etc.).
So it’s a lazy shortcut. It’s also a quick and easy way to de-stress; so it’s no surprise that some of the people with the highest rates of drug use are professionals like doctors2.
Certain drugs also act as a “social lubricant”, reducing social anxiety and making people more outgoing than they otherwise would be.
Research published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists3 suggests phobias were present in 22% of male and 45% of female substance abusers, while anxiety disorders were prevalent amongst 10% of males and 22% of females. There were similar figures for alcoholism.
Participating in something deemed illicit could be considered exciting, or an act of rebellion. There’s conflicting evidence regarding the impact of peer pressure – friends or choice of friends influencing behaviour – which could either be overestimated (here, here and here) or make drug use more likely (here).
Inspiration, creativity….and cheating
People don’t like to think about drugs this way, but it has an element of truth.
Drug side effects might make you see the world differently. It’s what research4 has described as a “creative chaos” where something new is created from a “heightened sensitivity to stimuli”.
The list of great works of literature, poetry visual art and music that have been (or believed to have been) created under the influence of drugs is endless. It’s reached a point where I’d be more surprised if successful artists, creatives and musicians haven’t taken drugs. That’s before mentioning politicians.
There are more underhand uses too, of course – particularly when it comes to cheating in sports.
Anabolic steroids were mentioned earlier, but other widely known performance-enhancing drugs include erythropoietin (EPO) which increases the number of red blood cells, obviously improving endurance and athletic performance as a result. EPO is often very hard to detect.
All of this has a toll. If the list of works inspired by drug use is endless, so are the number of artists and sports stars left with permanent damage, or even dead, as a result.
Self-medication
There’s a solid link between drug use and self-medication for depression and other mental health disorders. Research (here, here, here) suggests early intervention in mental health or the education system might prevent substance use becoming an addiction.
This is also why some prescription medicines are as dangerous as “street drugs”. People who “self-medicate” – that is, treat their illnesses without consulting a medical professional – are at a higher risk of drug abuse, with a particular prevalence amongst those with social anxiety disorders (as mentioned earlier).
People with serious long-term illnesses might consider taking illegal drugs as a form of pain relief they can’t get from prescription drugs. As mentioned earlier, cannabis can be used to treat spasms, chronic pain like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma (because it reduces eye pressure).
That explains the growing popularity of purified cannabidiol (CBD) which has the ingredients that cause a person to get “high” removed – but it’s not perfect in itself. It’s very difficult to do pharmacological or equivalent research on restricted drugs, so it’s unclear what – if any- risks outweigh the benefits.
Boredom
Drugs can distort perceptions of time, providing an escape for those who don’t have much to do, with Colombia University research from 20035 citing boredom as a key trigger for drug use amongst teenagers.
It’s an even more pronounced problem amongst the homeless, who don’t have access to entertainment and pretty much have nothing to do but try to survive. I’m sure if you’re living on the streets, a day can feel like a week.
A report from the UK Government’s Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs6 concluded that up to half of homeless people in England had a substance abuse problem, and up to 32% of all deaths amongst homeless populations in 2017 were due to drugs, compared to 1% for the general population.
They’re addicted
Anyone can become addicted to drugs, of any kind and any strength.
Persistent use of drugs will change neurotransmitter production or suppression, meaning a person becomes tolerant to unnaturally high or low levels. Once levels reach a “natural” state it leads to symptoms of withdrawal – which can happen even with the likes of caffeine.
A person will then need bigger and bigger doses, putting themselves at risk of a lethal overdose (for drugs like heroin) or other long-term health problems. This won’t be the case for all drugs as certain illegal drugs – like LSD and ecstasy/MDMA – are less addictive than alcohol, heroin and nicotine.
2. Medisauskaite A, Kamau C. (2019) “Does occupational distress raise the risk of alcohol use, binge-eating, ill health and sleep problems among medical doctors? A UK cross-sectional study”. BMJ Open doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027362
3. Lingford-Hughes, A., Potokar, J. and Nutt, D. (2002) ‘Treating anxiety complicated by substance misuse’, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8(2), pp. 107–116. doi:10.1192/apt.8.2.107.
4. Zausner T. (2011). Chaos, creativity, and substance abuse: the nonlinear dynamics of choice. Nonlinear dynamics, psychology, and life sciences, 15(2), 207–227.
5. National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VIII: Teens and Parents (2003). Available at: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED478693
6. Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (June 2019). “Drug-related harms in homeless populations and how they can be reduced”. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d0a566eed915d0936ba5fb6/Drug-related_harms_in_homeless_populations.pdf
