The Drugs Decade: Losing the War
As an MP who has taken an active interest in trying to help deal with problem of drugs in our society, it was very disappointing, but fully expected, to read the report issued by the UK Drug Policy Commission, an independently funded group, which stated that a decade of conducting a ‘war on drugs’ had achieved very little.
The facts are stark: the illegal drugs market is worth £5bn and the estimated social cost of drug-related crime is £13 million. 1,700 deaths a year are attributable directly to drug use, and there is a clear linkage to youth crime in particular.
With a market as lucrative as drugs, controlling and preventing the suppliers was not going to be easy, but over ten years, this Government has presided over a situation whereby Britain now has the worst drug addiction rate in Europe. Its eye-catching headlines of crackdowns, initiatives and Czars – and underlying confused message - have failed to address the true extent of the problem. It is overwhelmingly members of the younger generation that are having their lives ruined by drugs and their consequences. After all, they are more likely to be victim of a mugging, robbery or a fatal stabbing by an addict desperate for money for his next fix.
It is up to the Government to recognise the urgent need for comprehensive rehabilitation, especially in our prisons. If we are warned that cigarettes can kill, then modern day cannabis, with its much higher carcinogenic properties, should first and foremost be a health issue of the highest order.