Regarding heroin: British and American approaches

Abstract

Heroin, a drug with major health care and legal implications, presents a major challenge to the international community. Its increasing popularity is reflected in drug use surveys and the entertainment industry (Caro, 1996). The explosive spread of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection associated with intravenous drug use makes the reduction of risky drug-taking behavior a top priority for all nations.In this article we have chosen to focus on heroin because of its highly addictive properties (although tobacco is similarly addictive, according to recent reports [Iversen, 1996]), its dangerous association with transmission of the AIDS virus, and the marked cultural differences accruing to its treatment. The major purpose of the article is to highlight cultural differences in approaching mutual problems, differences revealed to the authors in the course of an interdepartmental faculty-student exchange. That much can be learned, both positive and negative, from cross-cultural policy analysis is an underlying assumption here.After describing the setting within which the international exchange took place, we will compare and contrast the history and politics of heroin use in each country. Then we will consider the needle exchange program, highly accepted as an essential preventive measure in the United Kingdom where the harm reduction