Society's Misfits

Abstract

Drugs and Lifestyle -The Making of a Scapegoat The very title for this meeting is a dubious one. Society can be defined in various ways according to the group or sub-group to which one belongs, and misfits is a term often used by one group to describe the other. My own qualifications for speaking here are my associations with an organization called Release which attempts to deal with problems mainly encountered in one particular group or sub-culture. Release is a grass-roots organization set up in 1967 to give legal advice to young people arrested on drug charges. From this basis has developed a general help agency giving advice on all kinds of legal, social and medical problems. I was one of the first doctors to become involved and we have about a dozen now helping in one way or another. There are two late evenings a week with a doctor present besides general help at all times by telephone, and we are also strongly supportive at the pop festivals Release attends. We are a mixed group with young psychiatrists and general hospital doctors as well as GPs. It is a common misconception that we deal only with drug problems, mainly those of addiction. At Release we have a saying -'There is no such thing as a drug problem, only a people problem'. In fact what we really deal with is alienation, very often doing no more than reassuring somebody that his GP will still treat him properly, in spite of his different appearance and life style. This is a sad commentary on the image of the medical profession held by many young people. In this 'Requests for reprints may be sent to: 42 Elm Bank Mansions, Elm Bank Gardens, London SW13