Introduction to Drugs

Duration: one or two days

Appropriate for: workers with little or no previous drugs training or experience. It is a primer course, and provides a good grounding for understanding key issues and concepts and provides a firm foundation for further training. The one day course is adequate for workers who will have little contact with people who use drugs but need a basic understanding. The two day course will be more appropriate for new workers who will work with drug users and need more detailed knowledge.

About the course: The main part of the course is an exploration of the main drugs used outside of medical settings in the UK. The course also looks at reasons behind drugs use, concepts in drug use and some key responses to drug use. There is an exploration of what harm drug use can cause and strategies for addressing this

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding of the range of legal and illegal drugs that may be used in non-medical settings
• Understanding of the range and spectrum of drug use, and patterns of drug use
• Increased familiarity with key drugs,
• Increased awareness of risks related to drug use
• Increased awareness of the range of responses to drug use
• Understanding of key concepts such as dependency, treatment and harm reduction.

The course includes:

• What do we mean by "drugs."
• Drug trends
• Why people use drugs
• Frameworks for understanding drugs:
  • Legal
  • Social
  • Physiological
• Key drugs:
  • Availability
  • Cost
  • Appearance
  • Methods of use
  • Effects
  • Terms
  • Key risks
• Concepts
  
  • Physical and psychological dependency
  • Harm reduction
  • Detoxification
  • Rehabilitation

Format: The course will involve taught sections, small group work and work in pairs.

Handouts: The course will be accompanied by "Drug Facts" Handouts and additional literature by arrangement.

DANOS Modules: AA1, AA4, AB2, AB5, AC1, AD1, AD2, AD4

Notes: This is a flexible course that can be tailored for delivery in a number of settings (e.g. housing, young people specific, community, etc.)