Lifestyles and history of drug users in four EU countries

1. www.easyandfaster.eu info@easyandfaster.eu An investigation on therapeutic communities and on low threshold services has been conducted in order to fill the gap in data on the lifestyle of drug consumers; this lack of knowledge is in spite of the gravity of the problem that has involved institutions at a national and international level. Evidence based knowledge of many important aspects for the definition of a drug policy is insufficient. The most reliable, complete, available and comparable information in many countries comes from investigations into the students of senior schools1, when drug consumers begin their first use of drugs - for the most part cannabis, at least in Italy and in Europe in general. How does one arrive from there to take heroin or cocaine? What is the evolution from occasional, recreational or weekend use to intense use and the use of hard drugs? These questions are hard to resolve only by investigating the behaviour of students. In fact a problem drug user rarely follows the rhythms of school and often fails to complete studies and is therefore absent from the largest studies in Europe and the USA. Mean average of ages of patients by country Alcohol use at current time (patients) Lifestyles and history of drug users in four EU countries *Years and fraction of year after the dot. Sleeping medications Use From questions on sources of finance one can obtain a level field of comparison between the four countries on the progressive degradation of problematic users. The family - generally the closest relative or partner - is one of the principle sources of funding to sustain drug use in all of the countries studied. Over time family links deteriorate and the consumer becomes ever more isolated (with higher levels of divorce and separation from a partner) and falls prey to the criminal circuit where they obtain their drugs. Work is predominantly occasional and with the passage of time the user has always less possibility of being active in the job market. Sources of money for drug consumers Illegal sources of money It is worth taking the two above tables into account in order to underline how illegal activity is important to a problematic user, particularly in Italy and the Czech Republic where nearly 3/4 of respondents financed their use with illegal activity while in Spain and Portugal around 3/5 reported the same thing. Still on this subject, one can note that the sale of illegal substances is very important for problem users, more or less at the same level as for other crimes (with the exception of the Czech Republic). But as we have previously noted, far less people are arrested and imprisoned for drug use than for other crimes. Contact with the Justice System Our respondents have been on the most part arrested for crimes other than drug selling. This can be partly explained in the difficulty in pursuing every small drug seller while it is much easier to arrest crimes committed against property or the person, particularly if they are committed under a state of inebriation.

2. www.easyandfaster.eu info@easyandfaster.eu CZECK REPUBLIC - Comparison of the evaluations by TC patients, LTS users and LTS users been in TC, regarding the utility of services [1= lowest rating _ 5= highest rating] ITALY - Comparison of the evaluations by TC patients, LTS users and LTS users been in TC, regarding the utility of services [1= lowest rating _ 5= highest rating] Lifestyles and history of drug users in four EU countries PORTUGAL - Comparison of the evaluations by TC patients, LTS users and LTS users been in TC, regarding the utility of services [1= lowest rating _ 5= highest rating] SPAIN/Catalonia - Comparison of the evaluations by TC patients, LTS users and LTS users been in TC, regarding the utility of services [1= lowest rating _ 5= highest rating] The level of satisfaction for the services are an interesting proxy of the expected services. Low Threshold patients seem to look for Medical assistance more than psychological assistances especially in Italy. Medical assistance becomes less satisfactory among the patients of Therapeutic Communities and the patients of Low Threshold Services who have been in TC in the past. This behaviour changes in Spain. The degradation of drug users can be observed together with the difficulties to live with a partner. In the four tables above, the evolution of "with whom did you live?" is reported with reference to age class. The question was just for the respondents older than 25 years.