ABSTRACT
Initially, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by the concept of ‘substance misuse’ and the drugs involved. According to the American Psychiatric Association, misuse can include drug-related behaviour that may cause trouble in the short term through accidents, social or legal problems, though this behaviour need not have become a regular pattern. Two further categories of psychiatric disorder in relation to substance use are defined in the DSM-IV, (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association 1994).
