6. Recreational drug use

Children and Young People: Staying Healthy Forum

(MFD) That this meeting of RCN Congress discusses the use of recreational drugs by the public and its impact on the role of nurses

Debate report

Proposer Mervyn Townley introduced this debate with an account of a sixteen year old boy who had attempted suicide following a series of drug binges. He described how this encounter had highlighted the damaging affect of so-called “recreational” drugs on young people’s mental health.

Mervyn told Congress that nursing staff need to be knowledgeable about thinking patterns surrounding drug use, about local services and of the impact on relatives as well as those directly affected.

Linda Bailey from the Public Health Forum took to the stage to share her experience of young people using drugs at festivals. She put it to Congress that publicising the harmful side effects of drug use would be the most powerful deterrent. Jason Warriner, also from the forum, highlighted the impact of drug use on sexual behaviour. He cited an increase in HIV in gay men as a direct result of drug use.

David Dawes cautioned against exaggerating the risks associated with recreational drug use, so as not to disengage those with whom engagement is most important.

Members with a variety of professional backgrounds shared both personal and professional anecdotes on this issue and Mervyn reflected on the breadth and depth of the debate in his closing statement. He thanked Congress for their heart-felt reflections and said it was evident that improvements in training and awareness were required.

Background

Recent years have seen a trend not only of increasing recreational drug use across the UK, but also of a wider range of substances. Current popular and high profile drugs include mephedrone (also known as meow meow, M-cat, drone etc), cannabis, ketamine and alcohol. Mephedrone in particular is increasing in its use and is now the fourth most prevalent drug measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales in 2011/12.

In Scotland 6.6 per cent of adults reported using drugs in the last year (2010/11). Cannabis was the drug adults most commonly reported using followed by cocaine and ecstasy. An estimated 52,000 people in Scotland are problem drug users. This has an estimated economic and social cost of £2.6bn per annum.

In Northern Ireland in 2010, there were 92 drug-related deaths compared with 84 in 2008. Those living in the most deprived areas are five times more likely to die from a drug-related cause than those in the least deprived areas.

Mephedrone and other relatively new, “party” drugs have attracted attention in recent years. Almost any nurse may be in a position to ascertain whether a patient is at risk from drugs used other than as prescribed, and brief interventions are encouraged by the World Health Organization, especially for nurses working in primary care.

Drugs are influential on both the physical and mental health of many patients. Young people are presenting to accident and emergency departments and mental health services as a consequence of their drug use. However, this is not a problem confined to young people and reports suggest age is no barrier to such drug use. This increase has been deemed by the Home Office as more statistically significant for the adult population.

Congress is invited to discuss the impact of drugs on the roles of nurses and their approaches to care. Skills and knowledge require updating regularly, and the health messages given to various groups need to reflect a broader public health agenda. Nurses need to understand their responsibilities in engaging with a range of other organisations to help with this agenda.
 

References and further reading

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2012) Annual report 2012: the state of thedrugs problem in Europe. Luxembourg: Office of the European Union. Available at: www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_190854_EN_TDAC12001ENC_.pdf (accessed 13/03/13) (Web).

North West Public Health Observatory (2102) Human enhancement drugs: the emerging challenges to public health. Liverpool: North West Public Health Observatory Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University. Available at: www.nwph.net/nwpho/Publications/Human%20Enhancement%20Drugs%20-%20The%20Emerging%20Challenges%20to%20Public%20Health.pdf (accessed 13/03/13) (Web).