ABSTRACT

In the 1960s two notable developments occurred in the field of use of illicit drugs, especially of heroin, in the United Kingdom: (1) an unexpected and unprecedented rise in the numbers using them; and (2) the establishment of provisions both for the treatment of drug addicts and for monitoring the extent of the problem. Up until the early 1960s the observations of the 'Rolleston Committee' (see Chapter 2, this volume) made in 1926 still applied – i.e. that 'addiction to heroin was rare' and was mostly confined to urban areas. However, the numbers of heroin addicts in the UK rose from 62 in 1958 to 1,349 in 1967 (see Chapters 3 and 4, this volume). This upward trend has continued. Until the late 1960s it was believed, as Rolleston had observed, that the problem of addiction was confined to major cities. This would explain the concentration of the special treatment facilities introduced in 1968 in metropolitan cities such as London.