Drugs in Central Lambeth: an exploratory study

This article reports the results of a study that compared the perceptions held by drug users and dealers in Central Lambeth of the drug problem with those of residents not involved in the local drug scene. Unstructured interviews were conducted with users and dealers on the one hand, and with groups of non-drug- involved residents on the other. Interviews and collective discussions involved about 100 people. Quantitative data also were provided by agencies such as hospitals, drug agencies, the police and a drug misuse database. The following themes were discussed: the existence and perceptions of a drug problem in the area; the causes of drug abuse; the scale and features of the drug economy in the area; and viable preventative policies to tackle drug abuse. Results of the study indicate that views as to the existence of a drug problem and the causes of drug abuse varied depending on the distance, both geographical and moral, of informants from the drug milieu and problematic drug use.