Views range from ‘why is it taking so long to legalise it..?’ to worries about the long-term health risks and concern that the law has gone too far already. Is it really dangerous? Was it reclassified to reduce paperwork?
Are we storing up a health timebomb? Is it no more dangerous than having a few drinks? Do your views differ from those represented on page 6?
The other day I bumped into neighbours who began chatting about Christmas.
The kids would be away from home for the first time, and they were at a bit of a loose end. ‘We were thinking about working with the homeless… but then our son’s friend said he knew someone who’d tried it, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. We’ll probably go to Paris or Wales instead.’
How amazing then, that 3,000 volunteers will be turning their backs on the easy option and heading for the Crisis Open Christmas hostels next week – at least half of them ‘regulars’, who have returned year after year to take pride in creating a ‘family’ Christmas for people who would otherwise be on the streets.
Claire Brown – Editor
I was fortunate this week to be invited to a lecture, arranged by the National Association for the Children of Alcoholics (NACOA), which really got me thinking about the three-way relationship between child, parent and alcohol.
The highly successful journalist and broadcaster, Fergal Keane, was talking about his experiences as the child of an alcoholic father – and then as an alcoholic himself. What struck me most was how such a high profile professional could manage to stay focused on such a demanding job, while hiding his evening drinking binges from friends, colleagues and the public.
Claire Brown – Editor
Tacked on to a number of major drug reports as a reference – ‘this could also apply to alcohol’ – the needs of those who have drifted from using alcohol for regular relaxation and social confidence to desperate dependency, have been neglected.
The DATs who have become DAATs may be doing their best, but it seems up to the persistent minority to remind government that targets are not set for shifting, and that a report on alcohol services due on such and such a date means that there are services looking out for a framework and a promise of commitment.
Claire Brown – Editor
You’ll see that we’ve teamed up with the partner organisations listed on this page to bring news and features from very different perspectives. The other part of the equation, to make this magazine a successful communication tool, is you. The magazine will work best if you let us know what’s happening in your workplace and region. Let us know your experiences with clients, and practical solutions that will help other readers.
This issue we catch up with Caroline Flint at the Home Office, who shares some interesting thoughts on drugs and crime. On the professional side, we summarise FDAP’s revised code of practice, which gives some helpful advice on those less than clear work situations. But we’re not all about the official side of work. Natalie’s story (page 6) and Dave’s day in the life’ (page 12) illustrate what we’re all about: demonstrating that treatment and support services can, and most definitely do, make a real and lasting difference to people’s lives.
Claire Brown – Editor
