Synthetic drugs are a growing, dangerous presence, according to a review by the LGA (Local Government Association) into the UK’s two-year-old drugs strategy.
The places studied were Cornwall; the West Midlands; Croydon; Wirral; Southampton, Norfolk, Knowsley; Peterborough and Manchester. In the West Midlands, it was noted that achieving the Government’s target of 75 per cent of inmates transitioning to community care post-release is ‘unrealistic’; the West Midlands has made a ‘significant improvement’ from 30 per cent to about 50 per cent.
Among the ‘challenges’ noted were short funding cycles (of perhaps only one year, which made it hard to plan, and to attract and retain staff); and. Merely taking drugs off the streets may be insufficient to impact treatment levels and may, in fact, be counterproductive, according to the report. As for treatment of addicts, progress has been made in increasing non-opiate and alcohol users into treatment, but this progress has not been mirrored among opiate use, the study stated. As the report began by noting, it remains a stark fact that more people die from drug misuse every year than from all knife crime and road traffic incidents combined.
As for how treatment relates to enforcement of the law against illegal drug supply and consumption, the report acknowledged ‘the drug supply chain as a vast criminal network that continually adapts to changes in drug supply and policy’. “However, the emphasis on law enforcement within the drug strategy is perceived at times as inefficient in targeting resources. For instance, the criminalisation of substances like nitrous oxide may hinder individuals from seeking support even with more dangerous substances. The overarching message of “getting tough” on drugs from the government may not effectively encourage people to enter treatment. Depicting drug use as a purely moral choice to take and be dependent on drugs disregards the range of complex drivers, as well as the social, economic and cultural reasons for why a person may take drugs.”
Background
In December 2021, the then Boris Johnson Conservative Government brought out ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’.
Comment
For the APCC (Association of Police and Crime Commissioners), Joint Leads on Addictions and Substance Misuse, Joy Allen (PCC for Durham) and David Sidwick (PCC for Dorset) said: “We would echo the LGA’s positive evaluation of the “harm to hope” approach as delivered through local Combating Drugs Partnerships, a number of which are chaired by Police and Crime Commissioners. We also strongly support the call for multi-year funding for drug treatment, which is one of the most effective ways of cutting crime and saving the much greater expenditures of public money needed to pick up the pieces later on. We urge the new government to build on the positive legacy of the harm to hope work.
“One of the weaknesses of drug strategy implementation which is rightly picked up in this report has been the insufficient weight on prevention and a generational shift in attitudes to drugs. We hope this point will register with government, for example as it develops plans for prevention partnerships and for the Young Futures programme.
“We also share the LGA’s concerns about the threat of synthetic drugs and support their call for improved early warning systems, alongside other measures, such as further roll out of the anti-overdose drug naloxone. As well as synthetic opioids, there is also growing alarm among PCCs about the prevalence of contaminated vapes, often containing dangerous synthetic cannabinoids such as Spice, and we’d like to see more being done to raise awareness of these risks, particularly among young people.”
