Policy Hub
On 19 April 2007, the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) published a report (An analysis of UK drug policy) finds that the UK has the highest levels of addiction and multi-drug consumption and the second-highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe. The report says that, despite attempts by successive governments to control the demand for and supply of illegal drugs, drug policy appears to have had minimal impact on the overall level of use of illegal drugs in the UK.
There is little evidence from the UK, or any other country, that drug policy influences either the number of drug users or the share of users who are dependent. There are numerous other cultural and social factors that appear to be more important. It is notable that two European countries that are often used as contrasting examples of tough or liberal drug policies, Sweden and the Netherlands, both have lower rates of overall and problematic drug use than the UK. Given the international evidence as to the limited ability of drug policy to influence national trends in drug use and drug dependence, it is unreasonable to judge the performance of a country’s drug policy by the levels of drug use in that country. The arena where government drug policy needs to focus further effort and where it can make an impact is in reducing the levels of drug-related harms (crime, death and disease and other associated problems) through the expansion of and innovation in treatment and harm reduction services.