UK drug law and policy
Drug misuse deaths continue to rise across the UK
Laws on drugs in the UK
The main piece of legislation controlling drugs in the UK — the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 — is more than 50 years old. An independent review in 2001 on behalf of the Police Federation concluded a reform of the Act was needed, but this has been rejected by successive UK Governments.
Drugs can have a devastating impact on an individual, loved ones and society. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are increasingly moving towards a public health approach. The devolved administrations have also raised concerns about further punitive measures proposed by the Home Office.
Other key legislation relating to drugs include:
We opened our Drugs inquiry on 10 February 2022.
The 10-Year Drug Strategy
A joint action between six government departments signals a shift in the UK Government’s response to drugs. It applies to England, and to Wales in relation to criminal justice. The Government’s latest drugs strategy, ‘From Harm to Hope: A 10-Year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ (the 10-Year Drugs Strategy) proposes tackling the illegal drug market, while supporting drug users, loved ones and society. It aims to:
- break drug supply chains
- deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system
- achieve a significant reduction in demand for illegal drugs over the next generation
Whilst it is a welcome move forward that the 10-Year Drug Strategy recognises some interventions that can reduce harms caused by drugs, our report finds:
- that the strategy could go further in supporting more public health interventions that seek to reduce drug-related harms and to help tackle stigma
Whilst the 10-year Drugs Strategy recognises harm reduction approaches through abstinence-based recovery, it may not be effective for all drug users. An update to the strategy to include a broader range of harm reduction treatment would help more people into recovery outlined in our report.
This approach could be supported by making drug policy the joint responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office jointly responsible for drug policy. We recommend that:
- the Combating Drugs portfolio be held by a minister that sits in both departments.
- the Home Office and law enforcement authorities would continue to respond to the illicit production and supply of drugs
Reform to help
save lives
Public health approach
A public health approach to drug abuse develops evidence-based policy that:
- focuses on the person, loved ones and the community
- supports personal crisis management and drug prevention
- adopts policies or interventions that seek to reduce the harms caused by drugs
Public health-led approaches can help lower dependency and overall death rates. One such approach, suggested by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, proposed the use of safe consumption facilities to prevent overdose or other related harms. These spaces should provide:
- medical supervision
- a space for people to consume drugs in a clean environment
Sixteen countries already operate such facilities, reducing drug overdose fatalities and deaths from blood-borne viruses like HIV. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 does not provide a legal pathway to establish a pilot scheme. This undermines the efforts of the 10 Year Drugs Strategy.
In addition, Scotland recently established a set of standards for service providers to apply when providing medical treatment to people entering into recovery from dependency on opioid drugs like heroin. The Government should repeat this in England to ensure a minimum standard of care for people entering into recovery from drugs.
Criminal justice-led approach
Reform to the outdated UK policy could balance criminal justice principles with proper public health interventions to reduce long-term drug use.
A criminal justice-led harm reduction approach must balance the role of police applying the law with public health and harm reduction interventions. The police could aid prevention of drug use and treatment of harms.
Scotland’s police officers carry a nasal spray or injection reversing the effects of an opioid overdose. A UK-wide role out could save many lives.
The police could also divert young offenders on low-level drug offences away from the criminal justice system.
One such scheme is Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery), a joint Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care pilot. Launched in 2020, it aims to reduce drug-related deaths, offences and use through:
- law enforcement
- diversionary schemes
- treatment and recovery
The use of diversion schemes by police in England and Wales is increasing, but the application varies across police forces, resulting in different criminal justice depending upon where the drug-related offence was committed.
We support greater standardisation of police-led diversion across England and Wales, to avoid a ‘postcode lottery’ in the treatment of such offenders.
In November 2019, the Government launched its County Lines Programme, which increased the police response on rail networks. Whilst law enforcement is vital to tackling the problem of drug use, this is only part of the solution. Children and young people require further help to fight against exploitation and stay out of the criminal justice system.
Dame Carol M. Black by Katy Blackwood
Dame Carol M. Black by Katy Blackwood
"Drug dependency is a chronic disease. It is a bit like diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis: you have relapses, you have remissions. It is simply that we do not treat it like that. We treat people who have a drug dependency as a stigmatised population who get a very inferior service from both the health service and, in fact, the treatment and recovery service. There is nothing but ourselves to stop us treating these people as if they have a health condition."
Dr Richard Lewis
Dr Richard Lewis
"I think it is fair to say that traditionally—it is no longer the case—law enforcement saw drug abuse and drug dealing through the narrow lens of enforcement. Over recent years—I am proud to say I am a member of a police service that now looks at it with a much wider lens—it has become very much about treatment, ensuring that those who are addicted or using are given opportunities to veer out of the criminal justice system."
The personal cost
of drugs
During our inquiry, we invited people to share their lived experience of drug use. We also heard from their family members and loved ones. These have been kept anonymous.
… drug use is stigmatised because it is perceived as a choice that is consciously made, as opposed to a health/mental health condition where support is needed.
Shaming individuals does not help individuals deal with addiction … treating individuals with respect is more productive.
Another negative consequence of stigma was that it prevents people from discussing the subject [Drugs].
… drug addiction needs to be ‘linked up’ to mental health. They [the participants with lived experience of drugs] said that there were lessons to be learned from positive changes in attitude toward male mental health over the past 5-10 years.
Our recommendations to the Government
We published our report and some of the recommendations are:
- Reform of the UK Government 1971 Act and 2001 Regulations in to promote a greater role for public health in response to drugs, whilst maintaining our law enforcement to tackle the illicit production and supply of controlled drugs.
- Evidence is a key but not the only driver of the development of drug policy.
- The UK Government should continue funding throughout the 10-year lifespan of the strategy to gives service providers time to prepare.
- We recommend that the Government update the 10-year strategy to increase the range of harm reduction approaches available to support a person's treatment and recovery from drugs in line with the approaches outlined in this report.
- The Combating Drugs Minister devises a cross-departmental action plan to tackle stigma. To achieve this, the Government must engage with people with lived experience of drugs and stakeholders in drug treatment and recovery to understand how stigma can affect people and how best to tackle it. The action plan must be published before the end of this Parliament. Further the Government should work with the devolved administrations to roll-out a coordinated, UK-wide campaign to tackle stigma.
Next steps
The Government must now respond to our report
Our report, 'Drugs', was published on 31 August 2023.
Detailed information from our inquiry can be found on our website.
If you’re interested in our work, you can find out more on the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee website. You can also follow our work on Twitter.
The Home Affairs Committee is a cross-party committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies. It examines government policy, spending and the law in areas including immigration, security and policing.
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