Treat illegal drug use as health issue, says UK government review – here’s why
One of the biggest recommendations Black makes is that we need to stop continuing to frame problem drug use as a criminal activity
Thursday, July 8, 2021
The scale of the illicit drug trade in the UK is immense. Last year, the first part of an independent review of the drugs trade found the market in the UK was estimated to be worth £9.4 billion a year – with the health, social and criminal damage from this industry costing society an estimated £19 billion annually. The review was conducted by Dame Carol Black. Her first report revealed that around 3 million people used illicit drugs in England and Wales in 2020 and drug-related deaths have risen to record numbers for the past eight years. The second part of the review makes a number of recommendations for how the government can best tackle drug problems in the UK. (BMJ: The government must invest in treatment for people with drug problems, as new report shows stark consequences of cuts)
