Positive thinking

Ian Hamilton, University of York and Suzi Gage, University of Liverpool British home secretary, Sajid Javid, linked middle-class cocaine use with the recent increase in violent crime , especially among young people. During his speech at the Conservative party conference, Javid announced that the Home Office will conduct a full review of drug buyers and sellers, including professionals such as City workers. The review is welcome, but it exposes one of many problems with making bold statements such as Javid’s: that we currently know surprisingly little about the social class of people who use drugs. And although there are links between drugs and crime, there is little evidence to support a link between middle-class drug use and the rise in violent crime, such as that involving knives. While victims and perpetrators of knife crime may well have been using or dealing drugs, some reports suggest that outbreaks of violence are often triggered by social media disputes and p...

Ian Hamilton, University of York and Harry Sumnall, Liverpool Johns Moores University - United Kingdom The Home Office has just published a new drug strategy . The last one was published by Theresa May (then home secretary) seven years ago. The world has changed a lot in that time – not least for May – and so have drugs and the health problems that governments must deal with. So has the strategy changed with the times? The two central ambitions remain the same: to reduce the number of people who use drugs; and to improve recovery rates for those who develop problems with drugs. The Home Office continues to cite falling drug use in the UK as a sign that their policy approach to drugs is effective – but also concedes that drug use now appears to have plateaued. A more important indicator of success would be a fall in drug-related deaths. Sadly, these are on the rise. Deaths versus drug use. ONS   Drug deat...