Health Policy

The Government needs to overhaul and upgrade current drugs policy, says RSPH

Today (Oct 23) the Health and Social Care Select Committee issued the report of its inquiry into the harms of illicit drug use.

In 2018 in the UK there were 2,917 deaths related to illegal drugs, an upsurge of 16% on the previous year. This means that about 40 people are now dying every week from illicit drug-related deaths in England and Wales.

Scotland’s drug death rate saw a 27% increase in the past year, and is now the highest of all EU countries.

The RSPH, which submitted evidence to the inquiry earlier this year, is pleased that the Committee has taken an intrepid and evidence-based approach recommending that:

• Responsibility for drugs strategy to move from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care, in order for drugs policy be treated first and foremost as an issue of health, and not of criminal justice.
• The Government consult on decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use from a criminal offence to a civil matter, citing the Portuguese system as a model from which lessons should be drawn.
• Drug treatment services be funded suitably as a matter of urgency.
• Funding commitments to harm reduction services, including: needle and syringe exchanges, take-home naloxone, and piloting of Drug Consumption Rooms in areas of high need.

Whilst drug-related deaths are on the rise, funding for drug treatment has been cut by 27% on average across England, with cuts falling deepest in areas where drug-related deaths are at the highest.

Shirley Cramer CBE, chief executive of RSPH said:

“With drug-related deaths at record high levels, we are in dire need of reforms that are rooted in compassion and evidence – two elements that have been absent from our drugs policy for some time. It’s therefore fantastic to see the Select Committee setting forward these much-needed proposals, and we would encourage the Government to take them forward swiftly and with urgency.”