Drug users should not be criminalised, FPH and RSPH say

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) have called on the government to decriminalise the act of possession and personal use of illegal drugs in the UK.

In a report entitled, Taking A New Line On Drugs, the bodies argued that criminal sanctions had failed to deter illegal drug use, undermined people’s life chances and could act as a barrier to addicts seeking help.

The report suggested that the UK should adopt the system used in Portugal where people caught using drug were offered treatment and support as opposed to punishment, while dealers and suppliers are prosecuted as normal. It also advised that drugs education should be made mandatory and that the responsibility for the drug policy be moved from the Home Office to the Department of Health (DoH).

Shirley Cramer, Royal Society for Public Health chief executive, said: "For too long, UK and global drugs strategies have pursued reductions in drug use as an end in itself, failing to recognise that harsh criminal sanctions have pushed vulnerable people in need of treatment to the margins of society, driving up harm to health and wellbeing even as overall use falls.

"On many levels, in terms of the public's health, the 'war on drugs' has failed. The time has come for a new approach, where we recognise that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal justice issue, and that those who misuse drugs are in need of treatment and support - not criminals in need of punishment."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The UK's approach on drugs remains clear - we must prevent drug use in our communities and support people dependent on drugs through treatment and recovery.

"At the same time, we have to stop the supply of illegal drugs and tackle the organised crime behind the drugs trade."