It is very disappointing to see that the government continues to ignore the wise counsel from its own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. WDP, a drug and alcohol charity, is in favour of encouraging informed discussion on harm reduction for those who take illicit substances, and the government’s refusal to even consider the possibility of such evidence-based interventions as consumption rooms is discouraging. Moreover, it makes the government’s new drug strategy sound hollow, with its promises to improve care.
The record number of drug misuse deaths in 2015 shows the problem to be increasing; innovative ways to address it need to be considered. Fundamental to this is the continued funding of these and existing services. There is no mention of how the government intends to fund its drug strategy, and indeed the ringfence funding around existing drug service provision ends in 2019. We hope the government takes concrete steps to ensure that the services are unaffected by this change. At the moment, it looks like the government is taking a step backwards.
Yasmin Batliwala JP
Chair, WDP
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