The challenge to UK drug policy

Abstract

Drug policy within the UK has been challenged to a greater degree in the last twelve months than at any time over the last ten years. That challenge consists of reports from the Royal Society of Arts and the UK Drug Policy Commission as well as empirical research on the classification of drugs within the Misuse of Drugs Act. These documents identify major weaknesses in the content, direction and delivery of UK drug policy and propose a new direction of policy and new elements of drug policy. In the case of the RSA report and the report from the UK Drug Policy Commission the principal recommendation is for drug policy to shift from its current tri-partite focus on treatment, prevention and education to focus first and foremost on reducing drug-related harm. This paper critically considers the assessment of drug policy set out within these reports and looks at the possible impact of a drug policy that prioritized harm reduction over prevention and enforcement.