New Home Office drug strategy, same old rhetoric
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...