The government published a Drugs Bill. Proposals in the Bill included: giving police powers to test for class A drugs on arrest, and to require those who tested positive to attend an assessment and follow-up appointment; making dealing near a school, or using children as couriers for drugs or drug-related money, an aggravating factor in sentencing; and introducing a new presumption that those caught with more drugs than reasonable for personal use intended to supply (carrying tougher penalties). Campaigners criticized an over-emphasis on forcing people into treatment, and published proposals for an alternative Bill aimed at improving treatment services.
Source: Drugs Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 17 December 2004, DrugScope (020 7928 1211) and Turning Point
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | DrugScope press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A briefing paper said that more young men were in prison because of alcohol than because of drugs. More than half (52 per cent) of young men aged 18-20 in prison said alcohol was one of the reasons they got into trouble, whereas 43 per cent said drugs played a part.
Source: Finola Farrant, A Sobering Thought: Young men in prison, Howard League for Penal Reform (020 7249 7373)
Links: Briefing (pdf) | HLPR press release | Alcohol Concern press release
Date: 2004-Dec
A study explored the developing role of community involvement in responses to drugs. It concluded that the notion of community should not be tied so tightly to law enforcement and criminal justice: it should focus more on welfare-based activities, with the aim of promoting inclusive forms of social cohesion.
Source: Michael Shiner, Betsy Thom and Susanne MacGregor, with Dawn Gordon and Marianna Bayley, Exploring Community Responses to Drugs, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: Report (pdf) | Findings D44
Date: 2004-Dec
The government published a report highlighting the 'considerable progress' made since its updated drug strategy was published in 2002, and set out the challenges which remained over the next four years.
Source: Tackling Drugs - Changing Lives: Keeping communities safe from drugs, Home Office (0870 241 4680)
Links: Report (pdf) | DrugScope press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The government announced the extension of the restriction on bail programme, following successful pilots, under which courts were given powers to order drug assessment and treatment as conditions of bail. A drugs charity described the decision as 'questionable'.
Source: Press release 5 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 5 November 2004, DrugScope (020 7928 1211)
Links: Home Office press release | DrugScope press release
Date: 2004-Nov
Plans for a Drugs Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech). The government said that the Bill would strengthen police powers, so that more drug-abusing offenders were helped to reform, and more drug dealers were arrested and brought to justice - linked to new investment in drug treatment and rehabilitation. A drugs charity warned against the extension of drug testing on arrest and further measures to compel drug addicts into treatment through the criminal justice system.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Press release 23 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 23 November 2004, DrugScope (020 7928 1211)
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Home Office press release | PM speech | DrugScope press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report by a European drug-monitoring body expressed concerns about levels of drug abuse in the United Kingdom (and certain other countries). The government said that the report was based on old data, and did not reflect current levels of drug misuse.
Source: Annual Report 2004: The state of the drugs problem in the European Union and Norway, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (info@emcdda.eu.int) | Press release 25 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | EMCDDA press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report examined key themes in the debate on drug policy reform, detailed how legal regulation of drug markets would operate, and provided a roadmap and time line for reform.
Source: After the War on Drugs: Options for control, Transform Drug Policy Foundation (0117 941 5810)
Links: Report (pdf) | Transform press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
A report said that the re-conviction rate and frequency of re-conviction were lower among those in Scotland who completed drug treatment and testing orders than among those whose orders were revoked.
Source: Gill McIvor, Reconviction Following Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report |
Date: 2004-Oct
Research found that the images young people saw of those who smoked, drank, or took drugs had a greater impact on their behaviour than anything others might say to them.
Source: Paschal Sheeran, Unconscious Effects of Prototypes on Young People's Health and Social Behaviour, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A report summarized the available evidence on the prevention and/or reduction of illicit drug use among young people.
Source: Una Canning, Louise Millward, Thara Raj and Daniel Warm, Drug Use Prevention among Young People: Review of reviews, Health Development Agency (020 7430 0850)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | HDA press release
Date: 2004-Sep
A new book addressed a range of issues associated with drugs-related crime. It focused on drug markets, violence within those markets, policing, and the use of coercive treatment through the criminal justice system.
Source: Philip Bean, Drugs and Crime (2nd edition), Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Sep
The government announced an extension of drug testing for offenders. New laws would be introduced to enable the police to test those arrested for a trigger offence for 'class A' drugs on arrest rather than on charge, and to introduce mandatory assessment for suspects who tested positive. Campaigners expressed doubts over the effectiveness of the scheme.
Source: Press release 28 September 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 29 September 2004, DrugScope (020 7928 1211)
Links: Home Office press release | DrugScope press release
Date: 2004-Sep
The government said that a nationwide police 'blitz' approach to alcohol-related violence had been a success; and that the campaign would be repeated at regular intervals. During July-August 2004, police and trading standards officers carried out sting operations against more than 1,700 licensed premises, targeted over 4,000 troublemakers with fixed penalty notices, and confiscated alcohol from more than 9,500 adults and juveniles.
Source: Press release 17 September 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release | Alcohol Concern press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
Researchers reportedly found that as many as 1 in 50 young people and adults in three major English cities were injecting drugs - significantly higher than previous official estimates that, in 2001, only 0.3 per cent of the population between 15 and 64 years old were injecting drug users.
Source: The Guardian, 12 August 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
Among those aged 11-15 in England in 2003, prevalence of drug taking increased slightly (from 20 per cent to 21 per cent), compared to the previous year. Among those aged 16-24 year in England and Wales in 2002-03, drug taking decreased slightly (from 30 per cent to 28 per cent).
Source: Statistics on Young People and Drug Misuse: England, 2003, Statistical Bulletin 2004/13, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Bulletin (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
The number of drug seizures rose by 5 per cent in both 2001 and 2002.
Source: Maryam Ahmad and Lungowe Mwenda, Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics: United Kingdom, 2001 & 2002, Statistical Bulletin 08/04, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Bulletin (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
Researchers found that drug-testing of adults charged or convicted of 'trigger offences' had been implemented successfully in all areas. The proportion of positive tests varied from 36 per cent to 65 per cent. The government announced pilot schemes from 1 August 2004 involving the extension of testing to young people aged 14-18.
Source: Matrix Research and Consultancy and NACRO, Evaluation of Drug Testing in the Criminal Justice System, Research Study 286, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Press release 27 July 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Study (pdf) | Home Office press release | Drugscope press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
Three research papers examined different approaches to estimating the prevalence of problem drug misuse.
Source: Tim Millar, Islay Gemmell, Gordon Hay and Michael Donmall, The Dynamics of Drug Misuse: Assessing changes in prevalence, Online Report 35/04, Home Office (web publication only) | Matthew Hickman, Vanessa Higgins, Vivian Hope and Mark Bellis, Estimating Prevalence of Problem Drug Use: Multiple methods in Brighton, Liverpool and London, Online Report 36/04, Home Office | Martin Frischer, Heath Heatlie and Mathew Hickman, Estimating the Prevalence of Problematic and Injecting Drug Use for Drug Action Team Areas in England: A feasibility study using the multiple indicator method, Online Report 34/04, Home Office
Links: Report 35 (pdf) | Report 36 (pdf) | Report 34 (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Jul
An independent inquiry into drug testing at work found that the practice of testing employees for drugs and alcohol could 'increase dramatically and become a fact of everyday working life'. But the evidence on the links between drug use and accidents at work, absenteeism, low productivity and poor performance was found to be 'inconclusive'. The report urged the government to produce clear and definitive guidance on the practice.
Source: Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work, Drug Testing in the Workplace, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | JRF Findings 694 | TUC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
The government announced that a pilot scheme (the criminal justice interventions programme), which tested offenders for drugs in order to get them into treatment, was to be expanded to include those who abused alcohol.
Source: Press release 28 June 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Jun
A report said that a shortage of residential drug treatment centres was undermining attempts to cut crime. Although there were up to half a million problem drug users in England and Wales, there were fewer than 2,000 places in residential drug treatment centres. As a result, many addicts were going without vital treatment and continued to commit crimes, often ending up in prison.
Source: Joe Levenson, Searching for a Fix: Drug misuse, crime and the criminal justice system, Rethinking Crime & Punishment (020 7297 4700)
Links: Report (pdf) | RCP press release
Date: 2004-May
The Prime Minister warned the alcohol industry that unless it did more to curb 'binge drinking' it would be forced to pay for dealing with drunken behaviour.
Source: Speech by Tony Blair MP (Prime Minister) 21 May 2004
Links: Text of speech | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
A report provided an overview of findings from a study into the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the impact of low-level drug markets.
Source: Reducing the Impact of Local Drug Markets: A research review summary, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Apr
A report provided a summary of the results of the first two years of the 'NEW-ADAM' (New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring) programme. The surveys provided information on the characteristics, drug use and offending behaviour of suspects held in police custody. The government also announced a pilot (from 1 May 2004) under which courts would be given new powers to order drug assessment and treatment as conditions of bail.
Source: Katy Holloway and Trevor Bennett, The Results of the First Two Years of the NEW-ADAM Programme, Online Report 19/04, Home Office (web publication only) | Press release 30 April 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Findings 179 (pdf) | Findings 219 (pdf) | Home Office press release | Drugscope press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A new book argued that rather than treating sex and drugs including alcohol as separate education issues, it was necessary to help young people understand the links between them, so that they could manage the risks they might face more effectively.
Source: Jeanie Lynch and Simon Blake, Sex, Alcohol and Other Drugs: Exploring the links in young people s lives, National Children s Bureau (020 7843 6029)
Links: NCB press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A report by the National Audit Office said that 8 out of 10 convicted substance abusers given a drug testing and treatment order by the courts were reconvicted within two years.
Source: The Drug Treatment and Testing Order: Early lessons, National Audit Office (020 7798 7000) HC 366 (Session 2003-04)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NAO press release | Drugscope press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
A report explored how local concern about alcohol-related crime and disorder was translated into practice, by examining how the problem was identified, prioritised and tackled at a local level. The report also presented information on how some local areas were tackling some of the more negative aspects of a thriving night-time economy.
Source: Alcohol Audits, Strategies and Initiatives: Lessons from crime and disorder reduction partnerships, Development and Practice Report 20, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
An article said that young men intoxicated with drugs or drink were more likely than people with mental health problems to kill strangers, and that failures in the mental healthcare system were not to blame for the rising number of 'stranger homicides' in England and Wales.
Source: Jenny Shaw, et al., 'Mental illness in people who kill strangers: longitudinal study and national clinical survey', British Medical Journal, 27 March 2004
Links: Article | BMJ press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
A report sought to establish the prevalence of illegal drug use in the working population, to investigate the effects of illegal drugs on work performance and to determine whether there was an association between illegal drug use and the prevalence of workplace accidents, injuries and human error. The project showed that recreational drug use might reduce performance efficiency and safety at work.
Source: Andy Smith, Emma Wadsworth, Susanna Moss and Sharon Simpson, The Scale and Impact of Illegal Drug Use by Workers, Research report 193, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
A report highlighted key benefits, challenges and best practice around the implementation and maintenance of drug testing offenders on charge.
Source: On-charge Drug Testing: Evaluation of drug testing in the criminal justice system, Development and Practice Report 16, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: DPR 16 (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
The Prime Minister said (in a newspaper interview) that said he wanted headteachers to employ private companies to carry out random drugs tests on pupils. Campaigners condemned the plans, saying that they risked driving drug use further underground, increasing truancies and exclusions, and causing a breakdown in trust between pupils and schools. Teachers attacked the plans as 'draconian'.
Source: News of the World, 22 February 2004 | Press release 22 February 2004, DrugScope (020 7928 1211) | Press release 23 February 2004, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (020 7930 6441)
Links: Downing Street press briefing | Drugscope press release | ATL press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
Cannabis was reclassified as a 'class C' drug on 29 January 2004. It remained illegal to produce, supply or possess the drug. But there was a 'presumption against using the power of arrest' for simple cannabis possession offences committed by those aged 18 or over. The government said this would allow the police to concentrate resources on tackling 'class A' drug supply offences.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers 19 January 2004, column 973W, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2004-Jan