Integrative review on place-based and other geographically defined responses to drug-related threats in communities. HRB Drug and Alcohol Evidence Review 9.

Abstract

A key element in successive Irish drugs strategies has been the involvement of non-governmental organisations and public agencies at various levels, from the local to the national, with the participation of communities and local stakeholders being central to Action 4.1.39 of the current strategy (Department of Health 2017). The key role accorded to Local and Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Forces in responding to drug-related threats confirms the importance of working in partnership with communities, which is a central principle of the World Health Organization Ottawa Charter (WHO 1986) and the Action Framework of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA 2021). It is useful, in this context, to review the international literature on interventions that seek to tackle drug-related harms at the local level by involving communities, with a view to providing a more comprehensive evidence base that can contribute to policy debates in Ireland. The aim of this report is thus to provide a summary of the international evidence on place-based initiatives in the context of drug-related harms.