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New report labels UK drug policy as "not fit for purpose" Calls are growing for urgent reform of UK drug policy, following the 2nd instalment of the Dame Carole Blacks governmentcommissioned review. The report into the UK's existing drug prevention and treatment policies branded current legislation as "disturbing, even shocking". The report concludes that "the public provision we currently have for prevention, treatment and recovery is not fit for purpose and urgently needs repairing". Also that "The current situation is intolerable". The review echoes the views of many, especially concerning the regulation and legislation of cannabis cultivation, possession and use in the UK. The argument is that existing policies are doing more harm than good and that we are desperate to reform. A recent YouGov poll reports that 52% of UK residents believe cannabis should be legal for recreational or adult use. Many advocates claim that current UK drug policy laws do nothing but put the government and organised crime gangs on the same side. The review concludes that the current policy hasn't just failed but made things worse. Nobody wants to see cannabis remain illegal more than organised crime gangs making billions through trafficking and selling banned substances. The study makes clear the existence of a relationship between restrictive laws and growing space for criminality. Organised crime practices like "County Lines" are considered a direct consequence of police tactics.
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PM Boris Johnson and other leading Conservatives disagree, however, continuing to believe that drug use contributes to the majority of social problems and should therefore be discouraged. Only in July, the Prime Minister announced a 50-page plan to crack down on drug trafficking in the UK, warning dealers, "we are coming for you". Additionally, the first part of the Dame Carol Black review outright accused the police force of having "too often exacerbated the problem" of drugs. However, the response of Current Home Secretary Priti Patel's primary
response was the vow to bring "the full force of the Government's response to bear on drugs supply". It is a widely held view that the current UK drug policy and tactics used to enforce it is the reason for the damaged relationship between police and local BAME communities. Figures show that black citizens are nine times more likely to be pulled for a "stop and search" based on suspicion of drug possession than white citizens. This is even though the likelihood of the two ethnic groups using illegal drugs is about the same! To make things worse, no force, when questioned, could satisfactorily explain why this is the case. Law enforcement was also unable to prove that 'stop and search was an effective tool in preventing drug trafficking. A total of 63% of all drug arrests made in 2020 were for possession of cannabis. According to the Ministry of Justice, there has been an average of 969 people serving sentences in UK prisons for cannabis offences since 2015. The UK Sentencing Council acknowledged, this year, that there were disparities based on ethnicity and gender concerning sentences handed out for drug offences.
Within BAME communities Police are far from being seen as any protection, more a source of persecution. A direct result of the enforcement of current drug laws. There's plenty of evidence available that could help the government take a new approach on the subject of legalising or decriminalising cannabis. The success of CBD has helped to change the perception of cannabis and its medicinal benefits. A legal cannabis market could also help to generate millions of pounds in tax. This is an extremely attractive proposition for any government as the world's economy tries to recover following the COVID 19 crisis. There is a glimmer of hope, too, as support from politicians is growing. Ten years ago, there were only a handful of MPs who supported legalisation. Now that number is in the several hundred. 14 European countries and 31 US states have decriminalised adult cannabis use to some extent, so there is plenty for the UK to study and learn from to find the best fit model. Hopefully, with the pressure mounting on the government to address our inadequate drug policies, we may indeed see, at the least, the decriminalisation of cannabis in the next 5-10 years. (RH)