Drink and Drugs News DDN November 2019 (1) | Page 4

NEWS ROUND-UP
MPs call for radical
overhaul of 'clearly
failing' drugs policy
T
wo select committee
reports in two weeks have
called for an overhaul
of the UK’s drug policy,
with the Health and Social Care
Committee stating that policy
is ‘clearly failing’ and requires
radical change and the Scottish
Affairs Committee calling for the
government’s approach to be
‘substantially reformed’.
The evidence is
clear – the criminal
justice approach
does not work
Pete Wishart MP
With rates of drug-related deaths
now at the ‘scale of a public health
emergency’ a shift from a criminal
justice to a health-based approach
is urgently required, says the Health
and Social Care Committee, adding
that significant investment needs
to be directed into drug treatment
as soon as possible. This would need
to be accompanied by a centrally
coordinated clinical audit to make
sure that guidelines are being
followed in the best interests of
service users, it says.
Both reports want to see
responsibility for drugs policy
moved from the Home Office to
the Department of Health and
Social Care, and both support
decriminalisation for personal
use and the introduction of
consumption facilities. The Scottish
Affairs Committee states that if
legislation allowing for consumption
rooms cannot be brought forward
then the power to do so should be
devolved to Scotland.
‘UK drugs policy is clearly
failing,’ said Health and Social Care
Committee chair Sarah Wollaston
MP. ‘Avoidable drug deaths are
increasing year on year across the UK
but there has been a failure to act on
the evidence. Scotland is particularly
hard hit with the highest death rate
in Europe. Decriminalisation alone
would not be sufficient. There needs
to be a radical upgrade in treatment
and holistic care for those who are
dependent on drugs and this should
begin without delay.’
‘The evidence is clear – the
criminal justice approach does
not work,’ added Scottish Affairs
Committee chair Pete Wishart MP.
Reports at www.parliament.uk
Deaths related to drug misuse, England and Wales, 2018 registrations
www.ons.gov.uk
4 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • NOVEMBER 2019
'Orange book' for alcohol
PHE IS WORKING to produce the first
UK-wide set of clinical guidelines
for alcohol treatment, the agency
has announced. While the UK drug
misuse treatment guidelines –
widely known as the ‘orange book’ –
have helped to ensure good practice
in drug treatment, there has so far
been no equivalent for alcohol.
PHE will start work on the guidelines
this month using an expert group of
clinicians, professionals and service
users, with the aim of publishing by
the end of 2020.
The guidelines will:
• promote good practice
• improve service provision
• develop clear consensus
• provide reference points for
inspection
• give guidance on managing
pathways
• implement interventions
recommended by NICE
• increase the number of people
in the UK receiving effective
treatment
Importation ring busted
THIRTEEN MEN HAVE BEEN ARRESTED
as part of an investigation into
what the NCA is calling the largest
UK drugs importation operation
yet discovered. They are thought to
be part of the UK arm of a ‘well-
By working closely
with partners... we
believe we have
dismantled a well-
established drug
supply route
established’ organised crime group
that used Dutch and British front
companies to import heroin, cocaine
and cannabis hidden in lorries
carrying vegetables and juice. The
group is responsible for importing
more than 50 tonnes of drugs, says
the agency, with six Dutch citizens
also awaiting extradition to the UK.
‘We suspect these men were involved
in an industrial-scale operation
– the biggest ever uncovered in
the UK,’ said NCA’s regional head
of investigations, Jayne Lloyd. ‘By
working closely with partners here
and overseas, in particular the Dutch
national police, we believe we have
dismantled a well-established drug
supply route.’
The right support for
survivors of sexual abuse
DRUG AND ALCOHOL SERVICES need
to make sure they are informed
enough to treat or signpost clients
who are also survivors of sexual
abuse, says the One in Four charity.
The organisation has produced
a film containing powerful first-
person testimony, Numbing the Pain:
Survivors’ Voices of Childhood
Sexual Abuse and Addiction
(www.youtube.com/watch?
v=KXmTVznOtE8&feature=y
outu.be), as well as a pocket
guide for professionals. While
evidence shows that large
numbers of people accessing
substance treatment have
experienced childhood abuse
or trauma, services remain
largely ill equipped to offer the
support they need or refer them to
appropriate specialist help (DDN, May,
page 10).
Guide available at www.ebay.
co.uk/itm/Numbing-the-Pain-
by-One-In-Four-and-Christiane-
Sanderson-/153544206259
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