A report by a committee of MPs called for a Royal Commission on the issue of drugs policy. The commission should consider all options for reform, including decriminalization and legalization.
Source: Drugs: Breaking the Cycle, Ninth Report (Session 2012–13), HC 184, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Oral and written evidence | Additional written evidence | ACPO press release | DrugScope press release | Kent University press release | Labour Party press release | Turning Point press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
A report said that billions of pounds were spent each year tackling drug-related problems, without a clear idea as to what difference the spending made. It called for the creation of a new body to assess existing and alternative drugs policies – possibly funded by assets seized from dealers.
Source: How to Make Drug Policy Better: Key findings from UKDPC research into drug policy governance , UK Drug Policy Commission
Links: Report | Summary | BBC report
Date: 2012-Dec
A commission report said that possession of small amounts of controlled drugs should no longer be a criminal offence, and that the move would not lead to a significant increase in use. But it rejected any more radical move to legalization, saying that allowing the legal sale of drugs such as heroin or cocaine could cause more damage than the existing drugs trade.
Source: A Fresh Approach to Drugs: The final report of the UK Drug Policy Commission , UK Drug Policy Commission
Links: Report | DrugScope press release | Green Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined the transformation of recent drug policy, the growing emphasis on links with crime, and the integration of drug treatment within the criminal justice system. It explored how the strategic vision of the drug-crime 'problem' had shaped the ways in which drug-using offenders were identified, targeted, and managed.
Source: Toby Seddon, Lisa Williams, and Robert Ralphs, Tough Choices: Risk, security and the criminalization of drug policy, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A report said that existing drug treatment provision prevented 4.9 million crimes in England per year – with an estimated saving to society of £960 million in costs to the public, business, the criminal justice system, and the National Health Service.
Source: Estimating the Crime Reduction Benefits of Drug Treatment and Recovery, National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
Links: Report | NTA press release
Date: 2012-May
A think-tank report said that policy interventions on drugs often seemed to be defined more by political positioning, and a desire to stamp something distinctive on to the criminal justice system, than to build on and improve policies that had already had some success. The evidence did not fall on the side of one particular treatment, but rather suggested that a diverse range of quality treatments was necessary. The report suggested some ways in which marginal improvements could be made in drug rehabilitation. Although the chances of revolutionary improvements were unlikely to materialize in the near future, a careful approach to reform might be able to prevent more crime, as well as save and improve more lives.
Source: Nick Cowen, Rehabilitating Drug Policy: What can we do better to reduce offending by drug addicts?, Civitas
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A report by a committee of peers said that the European Union drugs strategy had been successful in providing a guiding framework within which member states could formulate their national drug policies. It said that the next phase of the strategy should concentrate on areas where the EU could make a major contribution, such as the co-ordination of the fight against drug trafficking.
Source: The EU Drugs Strategy, 26th Report (Session 2010-12), HL 270, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
The coalition government published an alcohol strategy for England and Wales, including proposals designed to crack down on the 'binge drinking' culture, cut alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder, and reduce the number of people drinking to levels that damaged their health. The strategy included commitments to: introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol; consult on a ban on the sale of multi-buy alcohol discounting; introduce stronger powers for local areas to control the density of licensed premises; and pilot 'sobriety schemes' to challenge alcohol-related offending.
Source: The Government s Alcohol Strategy, Cm 8336, Home Office, TSO
Links: Strategy | Home Office press release | DH press release | HOC research brief | ACPO press release | Addaction press release | Alcohol Policy UK press release | ASA press release | DEF press release | Kings Fund press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | Methodist Church press release | Pharmacy Voice press release | RCN press release | RCP press release | ScHARR blog | SNP press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Mar
Researchers evaluated the alcohol arrest referral pilots, which operated between 2007 and 2010. Brief interventions to attempt to tackle alcohol-related offending were offered to adults who had been arrested and who were deemed to be under the influence of alcohol.
Source: Alistair Kennedy, Ian Dunbar, Michelle Boath, Caryl Beynon, Paul Duffy, Julia Stafford, and Geraldine Pettersson, Evaluation of Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes (Phase 1), Occasional Paper 101, Home Office | Katie McCracken, Mary McMurran, Simon Winlow, Franco Sassi, and Kerry McCarthy, Evaluation of Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes (Phase 2), Occasional Paper 102, Home Office
Links: Paper (1) | Paper (2) | Alcohol Policy UK press release
Date: 2012-Mar
An article said that although contemporary drug policy was still underpinned by the notion of a 'drugs-crime nexus' the suggested means by which crime rates were to be reduced was gradually shifting. Since 2008, there had been an increased use of conditionality in the benefits system, coupled with an overt desire to 'nudge' those engaging in risky behaviours to amend their ways – either towards 'abstinence' or 'recovery'. Such developments were part of a creeping 'moralization' in social policy.
Source: Mark Monaghan, 'The recent evolution of UK drug strategies: from maintenance to behaviour change?', People, Place & Policy, Volume 6 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Mar
An official advisory body published (following consultation) new guidelines on sentencing for drug offences in England and Wales, covering importation, supply, production, permitting premises to be used, and possession. It said that there were likely to be increased sentence lengths for those guilty of large-scale production offences, and reduced sentence lengths for drug 'mules'.
Source: Drug Offences: Definitive Guideline, Sentencing Council
Links: Guidelines | Consultation responses | Sentencing Council press release | DrugScope press release | Labour Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jan