Drug laws in Britain: "not fit for purpose"

As a fellow of the RSA, and a member of the Green Party, I welcome the launch today of the report of the RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy.

The report comes hot on the heels of comments from Alan Jones, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, who called for a return to the prescription of heroin for addicts.

The report recognises that the drug economy runs like any other economy, despite being illegal. For example, a police crackdown that is effective in reducing supply leads to an increase in prices and a consequent increase in crimes by users stealing to fund a habit. While the report does not go so far as to call for legalisation, it does call for drugs policy to

"be better integrated into broader policy, not ghettoized in some ways as it is now. Policy on substance misuse needs to remain a high priority but in a different way: not singled out for separate treatment but absorbed into the policy mainstream. That said, care needs to be taken, especially in the early stages, to ensure that the special needs of problematic drug users are taken fully into account. Drugs policies should be better integrated into policies in such areas as social exclusion, housing and homelessness and regeneration, just as they are increasingly being integrated into policies on children and young people."

It also calls for the replacement of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which it deems "unfit for purpose".

"The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is no longer fit for purpose. It should be scrapped and replaced with a new Misuse of Substances Act that:
– sets drugs in the wider context of substance misuse alongside alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances;
– is linked to an evidence-based index (reviewed on a regular basis) that makes clear the relative risks of harm from individual substances;
– seeks to focus punishment mainly on harmful behaviours stemming from drug use rather than the simple possession of drugs."