The Government's stated intention in its 2017 drug
strategy is to reduce all illicit and other harmful drug
use, and increase the rate of individuals recovering from their
dependence. The Health and Social Care Committee is seeking
written submissions on the health consequences of illicit drugs
policy.
Although drug use has broadly decreased over the past decade, use
remains high relative to comparable countries and drug related
deaths are almost three times the European average. This raises
concern around the Government’s current policy stance and drug
use and interventions in practice.
Terms of Reference
The Committee is seeking written submissions on the health
consequences of illicit drugs policy including on:
Health and harms:  
- · What
is the extent of health harms resulting from drug use? 
Prevention and early intervention:  
- · What
are the reasons for both the initial and the continued, sustained
use of drugs? This refers to the wide spectrum of use, from
high-risk use to the normalisation of recreational use.
- · How
effective and evidence-based are strategies for prevention and
early intervention in managing and countering the drivers of use?
This includes whether a whole-system approach is taken.
- ·
Treatment and harm reduction:  
- · How
effective and evidence-based is treatment provision? This refers
to both healthcare services and wider agencies, and the extent to
which joined-up care pathways operate.
- · Is
policy is sufficiently geared towards treatment? This includes
the extent to which health is prioritised, in the context of the
Government’s criminal justice-led approach.
Best practice: 
- · What
would a high-quality, evidence-based response to drugs look
like? 
- · What
responses to drugs internationally stand out as particularly
innovative and / or relevant, and what evidence is there of
impact in these cases? 
- ·
The closing date for written submissions is Monday
18 March. Those sending written submissions should not
feel they need to comment on every area mentioned. Submissions
should not exceed 3000 words.
