What is the impact of drug abuse on the local communities?

Answer 1

Some of the impacts of illegal drug dealing and drug taking are outlined in the UK Home Office report Measuring the Harm from Illegal Drugs using the Drug Harm Index.A

A list of the impacts is summarised below:

Health impacts• New HIV cases due to intravenous drug use (IDU), including those infected through heterosexual sex with someone who contracted the disease through IDU

• New Hepatitis B cases due to intravenous drug use

• New Hepatitis C cases due to intravenous drug use

• Drug-related deaths

• Drug-related mental health and behavioral problems

• Drug overdoses

• Drug-related neonatal problems

Community harms• Community perceptions of drug use/dealing [e.g. local availability] as a problem (i.e. the fear of crime increases)

• Drug dealing offences

Domestic drug-related crime (typically crimes committed in order to fund a drug addiction)• Burglary

• Theft of vehicle

• Theft from vehicle

• Bike theft

• Other theft

• Robbery

Commercial drug-related crime (crimes committed in order to fund a drug addiction).

• Shoplifting

• Burglary

• Theft of vehicle

• Theft from vehicle

More detailed information can also be found in the report entitled: An Analysis of UK Drug Policy - A Monograph Prepared for the UK Drug Policy Commission.B

AMacDonald, Z., Tinsley, L., Collingwood, J., Jamieson, P. and Pudney S. (2005). Measuring the Harm from Illegal Drugs using the Drug Harm Index. London, Home Office Online Report 24/05.

BReuter, P. and Stevens, A. (2007). An Analysis of UK Drug Policy - A Monograph Prepared for the UK Drug Policy Commission. London, UK Drug Policy Commission.

See related links.

Answer 2

Drug abuse is a social problem and because of the abuse there is more crime, more child abuse, more spousal abuse, death, and homeless people. All of this has a cost for the community and society.

Answer 3

Drug abuse, or addiction to drugs has a huge impact on a community for the following reasons:

LAW ENFORCEMENT: the lifestyle of a drug addict invariably involves breaking the law in one form or another. Theft, larceny, assault, domestic violence (the risk of being involved in a domestic violence relationship goes sky high when a person is a drug abuser, and not making healthy choices). Police have to respond to calls for overdoses, fights, disorderly conduct when the drug addict is high and it stretches their already limited resources thin.

The drug DEALERS who are in the community selling the drugs also have to be targeted and dealt with, This takes special "teams" of law enforcement professionals who are trained in this area. Those who do break the law often are arrested, and are bailed out and supposed to return to court at a later date. Often they don't show up, and once again the police are responsible for "serving warrants" and picking up these individuals. This is a waste of valuable time that could be spent in other ways.

HEALTHCARE: many drug addicts do not have health insurance. They must be taken care of, however, and the costs is enormous to the taxpayers in the community.

Millions of dollars are spent each year on Emergency Room visits for overdoses, injuries from the drug abuse, and because most addicts don't take care of their health preventatively, they end up getting sick with diseases that could have easily have been prevented through an immunization or medication. The burden of the uninsured on the healthcare system in this country (and thus, in each community) is beyond imagination. Once again, those who pay taxes and participate in this country's programs are left paying the cost.

SOCIAL: Many addicts don't have jobs, and therefore don't pay into the Social Security System, once again stretching the limited amount of money the Social Security System is already lacking and endangering the future of those who HAVE paid into it as honest members of society.

Addicts have a great deal of trouble with active addiction and parenting, and so sadly, many children are taken away from their parents and placed in foster homes. This is less than ideal, as the foster care system in this country has many flaws, as we see on the news almost every week at the very least.

These children are the innocent victims of a broken system. Many of them are returned home to their parents, only to be ripped right out of the home again when the parents relapse, and relapse after being in recovery (clean) is common for the disease of addiction.

These children have an incredibly high chance for becoming addicts themselves, there by threatening the future of our communities!

CRIME: addicts are not thinking when they commit crimes, or most aren't, and they carry out criminal acts that they would never perpetrate if they were clean/sober. Victims of crime from drug abusers include children, parents and loved ones of the addict, and strangers.

The effects of drugs, drug dealers, and drug abusers on the community is a topic that could be discussed for months and still not scratch the surface.

More programs and resources are needed, to say the least, as this problem has reached epidemic proportions in ALL COMMUNITIES, including upper/middle class suburbia!

Answer 4

Drugs affect the community in lots of way like theft to feed the drug habit n sh1t.....

Answer 5

No.

Yes, if every individual in a community used recreational drugs often, the situation then turns into an addiction at which point the community is highly affected.

Answer 6

It will affect the community because the people outside of it will think that the area is a bad area and then people that really are bad willl think they should come there

Answer 7

idk brom i am not saying u should but only smoke weed anyway other drugs are bad for you

Answer 8

could affect familys and loved ones