Key reading:
'Drugs: protecting families and communities' - 2008-2018 strategy
UK. Home Office, 2008.
The drug strategy aims to restrict the supply of illegal drugs and reduce the demand for them. It focuses on protecting families and strengthening communities.
The four main strands of work are:
- protecting communities through robust enforcement to tackle drug supply, drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour
- preventing harm to children, young people and families affected by drug misuse
- delivering new approaches to drug treatment and social re-integration
- public information campaigns, communications and community engagement
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/drug-strategy-2008-2018
Download: Full report (1 MB)
UKDPC submission to ACMD re cannabis reclassification
UKDPC, 2008.
This submission considers the most recent and relevant evidence to help inform the ACMD's 2008 cannabis classification review. It concludes that there is no compelling evidence that would require the Advisory Council to change its 2006 recommendation to keep cannabis classified as Class C.
Download: Full report (PDF 180 KB)
Street policing of problem drug users
Lister s., Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2007.
Street policing brings the police and private enforcement agencies into contact with problem drug users. Although many in this group are considered to be prolific criminals, little is known about their interaction with the police. Various factors have made problem drug use less of a focus of law enforcement agendas.
Web: http://www.jrf.org.uk/KNOWLEDGE/FINDINGS/socialpolicy/pdf/2161.pdf (PDF)
DrugScope's reponse to the Government consultation on the national drug strategy
DrugScope, 2007.
Please see our policy page for our response.
ACMD response to the drug consultation strategy
ACMD, 2007.
The ACMD's response to the new drug strategy based upon evidence regarding current drug policy, crime, prevention, interventions and treatment.
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/acmd/acmdconsultresponse.pdf?view=Binary (PDF 139KB)
UK - New Developments, trends and in-depth information on selected issues. 2007 National Report (2006 data) to the EMCDDA
Reitox National Focal Point, 2007.
The 2007 UK Focal Point's Annual Report has just been published. It provides information on the drug situation in the UK, a discussion of the main trends and a description of the responses to the situation. It covers national policies on drugs, prevalence, prevention, problem drug use, drug-related treatment, health correlates and consequences, social correlates and consequences, drug markets, public expenditure, vulnerable groups of young people and drug-related research in Europe.
Web: http://www.ukfocalpoint.org.uk/web/Publications201.asp
Download: Full report (PDF 1.1MB)
ACMD Response to the Drug Strategy Consultation
UK. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2007.
The ACMD's report which aims to provide an opportunity to discuss, debate and formulate the new drug strategy based upon evidence regarding current drug policy, crime, prevention, interventions and treatment.
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/acmd/acmdconsultresponse.pdf (PDF 139KB)
Drugs, our community your say: a consultation paper
UK. Home Office, 2007.
Outline of government strategy to tackle the social, personal and family problems arising from drug misuse, particularly among young people.
Web: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/drugs-our-community-consultation
Policing cannabis as a Class C drug
May T., Duffy M., Warburton H., Hough M., Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2007.
This report describes the impact of reclassification on the policing of cannabis possession. The study describes how the legislative changes and associated guidelines have been put into practice and provides a snapshot view of the impact of these changes. This is the only study that has compared the policing of cannabis before and after reclassification. The report also assesses the impact on police resources, explores police views about the changes and examines young people’s knowledge and attitudes about the changes. This report will be of interest to policy makers, police managers, central and local government officials, drug workers, academics and drug researchers.
Download: Full report (PDF 383KB)
Guidance on policing cannabis: use of cannabis warnings
Association of Chief Police Officer of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, ACPO, 2007.
This Crime Business Area Guidance has been developed to recommend to Chief Constables a consistent national approach to the policing of possession of Cannabis as a Class C Drug.
Download: Full report (WORD 79KB)
Hidden harm. Three years on: realities, challenges and opportunities.
UK. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2007.
Chapters cover the legal and policy context, estimating the scale of the problem, the impact of parental problem drug use on children and 'what works' - lessons from research, the practicalities of protecting and supporting the children of problem drug users.
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/acmd/HiddenHarm20071.pdf?view=Standard&pubID=445102
Safe. Sensible. Social - The Next Steps in the National Alcohol Strategy
UK. DOH, 2007.
This strategy builds upon the foundations which have been laid and the lessons learnt since 2004. It outlines a concerted approach to support a change in drinking culture and shows how the police, local communities, local authorities, the NHS, voluntary organisations, the alcohol industry and others all have a role to play.
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/alcohol?view=Standard&pubID=475654
An analysis of UK drug policy
Reuter P., Stevens A., UKDPC, 2007.
Despite the long-standing political prominence of the problem, relatively coherent strategies and substantial investment, the United Kingdom remains at the top of the European ladder for drug use and drug dependence. This study by Professor Peter Reuter of the University of Maryland, USA, and Alex Stevens of the University of Kent, England, assesses the evidence relating to the UK drug problem and analyses the impact of current policies.
Web: http://www.ukdpc.org.uk/reports.shtml
Drugs – facing facts
RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy, 2007
The RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy was set up to take a fresh look at drugs policy and to try to untangle the knot of issues commonly referred to as 'the drugs problem.'The results of its enquiries are set out in this report.
Download: Executive summary (PDF 1.8MB)
ACMD Response to the Science and Technology Committee report on drug classification
UK. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2006.
The ACMD's response to the Science and Technology Committee's report which examined the way in which the Government obtains and uses scientific information and uses scientific advice in the development of policy.
Web: http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/acmd/ACMDresponce.pdf?view=Standard&pubID=399411
RSA Drugs commission, 2006
RSA, 2006.
This paper looks at how the criminal justice system offers a response to drug misuse.
Download: http://www.rsadrugscommission.org.uk/pdf/
the_criminal_justice_system_0206.pdf (PDF 1.08MB)
Random drug testing of schoolchildren: a shot in the foot for drug prevention?
McKeganey N., Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 2005.
This report looks at the theory, the evidence, the ethics and the practicalities of testing children in UK schools.
Download: http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/1859352839.pdf (PDF 186KB)
Illicit drug use in the EU: legislative approaches
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2005.
The first part of this document contains background information on the international legal framework governing the use of drugs and their possession for personal use. The second part, addressing national legislations, begins by considering the conventional definitions of the terms ‘decriminalisation’ and ‘depenalisation’ and provides a summary description of the various national legislations in the European Union, based on the analysis of the legal texts, the role of quantity on prosecutions and the judicial practices.
Web: http://www.emcdda.eu.int/?nnodeid=7082
Reclassification of cannabis in the United Kingdom
Roberts M., Klein A., Trace M. DrugScope., Beckley Foundation, 2004
(DrugScope Briefing paper 1). (The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme). On 29 January 2004, an amendment to the drug laws came into effect in the UK that moved cannabis and its derivatives from Class B to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the primary drug control legislation in the UK. This is likely to reduce the priority that law enforcement agencies give to combating the possession and use of cannabis and restrict the circumstances under which the police should arrest those found in possession of the drug. However, it would be a mistake to view this as an indication of a more general liberalising trend in UK drug policy or as necessarily a first step towards decriminalisation of cannabis use. The motivations for this policy change and the manner of its implementation are more complex.
Download: http://www.internationaldrugpolicy.net/reports/
BeckleyFoundation_BriefingPaper_01.pdf (PDF 323 KB)
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003: Powers to close premises where Class A drugs and serious nuisance and disorder are a problem
Home Office, Drugs Strategy Directorate, 2004.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 creates new powers to control properties or locations where the sale, use or production of Class A drugs is related to serious nuisance and disorder.
Download: anti-socialbehaviouractv4.pdf (PDF 231KB)
