Abstract
In this work the implementation of policy and legislation to address NPS misuse will be discussed with specific consideration to the United Kingdom and the attendant issues surrounding the definition of a “psychoactive substance”. Policy impact and the associated management challenges within four specific environments in the United Kingdom will then be explored, those being the prison and police services, acute mental health services and community substance misuse services. Case examples will describe the impact of NPS within each of these services and thereby provide a realistic account of the actual challenges faced by frontline professionals and the harmful consequences faced by NPS misusers. It will conclude with commentary on the current debate on the efficacy of any prohibitive policy, which seeks to control NPS misuse and future management challenges for NPS policy development and implementation. The terms policy and legislation will be used interchangeably for the remainder of this contribution.
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Shafi, A., Gallagher, P., Punukollu, B., Martinotti, G. (2017). NPS Policy Pitfalls: The Implementation and Management Challenges Within the Prison, Police and Health Services in the United Kingdom. In: Corazza, O., Roman-Urrestarazu, A. (eds) Novel Psychoactive Substances. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60600-2_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60600-2_8
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