Government’s new drug strategy is a ‘shameful ignoring of the evidence’
Countries like Canada, Uruguay and several states in the USA are going further than this by creating legal markets for cannabis. The government’s claim that liberalisation will inevitably increase drug use and harms is contradicted by its own report, which showed no link between the harshness of punishment and the level of drug use..
In 2010, I warned that more recovery from drug dependence could not be achieved if the government went ahead with the cuts to incomes, housing and employment services that support people to put drug dependence behind them. So it has proved. Instead of more people recovering, more people are dying. In over 25 years of work in the field of drug policy, I have never seen a more glaring case of the UK government neglecting its duties to protect citizens than this drug strategy. It is not just a missed opportunity to develop a more effective approach, but a shameful ignoring of the evidence on how to reduce drug-related harms.
Original Article (Release.org.uk):
Government’s New Drug Strategy is a ‘Shameful Ignoring of the Evidence’
Artwork Fair Use: Ewald Judt
