Just say no

The UK has the highest level of problem drug use in Europe. Drug-related crime is one of the key reasons we are now holding 80,000 people in prison. Faced with this epidemic, government has only attempted to manage the problem rather than tackle its root causes.

The government priority has been to get as many addicts as possible on to harm reduction ‘treatment’ programmes. These focus on prescribing drug substitutes such as methadone and needle-exchange. But rather than providing a first step towards abstinence, for most, harm reduction has become a dead end.