Failures in treatment and policing behind 'boom in illegal drugs'
Landmark UK review says cost of drugs to society is £20bn a year as £600m is spent on treatment and prevention
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Disappearing and underfunded drug treatment services and fruitless attempts to restrict the flow of illegal substances into the country underpin a booming £9.4bn illicit drugs market in the UK, a landmark review has found. Prof Dame Carol Black was commissioned by the former home secretary Sajid Javid to lead a major review to look into the ways in which drugs are fuelling serious violence. Black’s analysis called for radical change to the UK’s approach to treatment. Efforts to restrict supply have had “limited success” and even if they were fully funded it might not make a difference to the flow of drugs into the country. (See also: Ian Hamilton: “They talk, we die”—the continuing paralysis of UK drug policy)
tags:
