This thesis is a case study of community conflict in St. Teresas Gardens, a south inner city flat complex (pop. 1,250 approx.) during the years 1978-1985. The study describes the emergence of a major drug problem in this community in the late 1970s, a time when the drug problem in Ireland as a whole, was relatively small. The drug problem is considered in the context of general deprivation and social and economic disadvantage in the community. The study considers the response of the Eastern Health Board to the drug problem and examines this response in the context of the health board's Community Care Programme and its policies and structures. The study also examines the emergence, and decline of a local community action group, the Concerned Parents Against Drugs (CPAD) in terms of the perceived failure of statutory efforts.

The thesis is a retrospective, participant observation study by the author who worked in St Teresa Gardens, as a social worker/community worker during 1980-1985. The primary conclusion to the study is that if statutory social services are to have an effective impact on drug problems in communities like St. Teresas Gardens, than greater effort in relation to understanding local problems and consulting with local people will be required.