Advisory Council On The Misuse of Drugs - Functioning

Functioning

One of the key functions of the ACMD is to recommend classification of new or existing drugs, which may be misused.

The sources of evidence that the ACMD uses are

  • formal surveys undertaken for, or on behalf of, government including the British Crime Survey, the Forensic Science Service statistics, general population surveys, school surveys as well as international/European surveys such as European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other drugs;
  • the law enforcement agencies;
  • voluntary sector organisations with concerns and responsibilities for those who misuse drugs;
  • professional bodies;
  • published and unpublished scientific literature;
  • submissions from special interest groups and the general public.

In order to have a rough but quantitative measure of the harms of a drug, the ACMD uses a risk assessment matrix, where nine different aspects of harm for each drug are evaluated:

  • Physical harm
    • Acute
    • Chronic
    • Parenteral (i.e. intravenous harm)
  • Dependence
    • Intensity of Pleasure
    • Psychological dependence
    • Physical dependence
  • Social harms
    • Intoxication
    • Other social harms
    • Healthcare costs

Read more about this topic:  Advisory Council On The Misuse Of Drugs

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