Have you ever taken drugs?

Friday 28 November 2014

Islanders are being asked to tell an online survey about their drug-taking history as part of a major review of drugs policy in Jersey.

The survey quizzes participants on what drugs – including new drugs formerly known as “legal highs” – they have taken, when they last took them and what their favourite drugs are or were. It also asks what time of day participants tended to use drugs, how much they spent, and whether they suffered any mental health problems from drug use.

The survey is the first that has been carried out since 2001 and drug use patterns have changed enormously since then.

It is being carried out by the Glasgow-based Centre for Drugs Misuse Research, who have stressed that it is completely anonymous – they say that although there is a prize draw to encourage people to share their experiences, the contact email addresses will be stored separately from the survey data.

Last year, rehabilitation charity Silkworth Lodge – who run the only residential rehabilitation centre in the Channel Islands – called for a major review of drug policy, saying that trends towards abuse of prescription drugs and former legal highs and away from drugs such as heroin, cocaine or ecstasy should be reflected in how the States aimed to tackle drug addiction issues.

Michael Gafoor, Director of the Island’s Alcohol & Drugs Service, said the review focussed on former legal highs, but that they wanted as broad a picture as possible of what drugs were being taken, and what the impact was.

He said: “The landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade, particularly since we first encountered NPS in 2007.

“We want to analyse what drugs are being used, and why, as well as the problems users are experiencing.”