Drug control In Britan

Question 1

timeline of UK drug policy during the 1960s-1970s

Answer 1

• 1964-1970s: UK dangerous act banned cannabis cultivation and tightened heroin prescription rules
  1967: lady wootton report suggested cannabis should be treated less harshly

Question 2

timeline of drugs in the 1980

Answer 2

• rise of heavy-handed policing (e.g., operation swamp), disproportionately targeting BAME communities
  -‘ just say no’ and other anti-drug campaigns
• 1986: needs exchange programs begin
• 1988: first UK MDMA death recorded

Question 3

timeline of drugs in 1990s

Answer 3

• criminal justice and public order act (1994) and entertainment penalties targeted rave culture
• Tony blair’s ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric reinforced prohibition
• drug deaths and possession arrests surged, despite increased enforcement

Question 4

200s-2020s timeline/key acts

Answer 4

• cannabis moved to class c (2004) than class B (2009)
• 385,000 possession convictions by end of decade
  in 2012 drug arrest doubled by 2012
• 2016: blanket ban on new psychoactive substances
  2018: medical cannabis legalised
  2019: UK drug deaths hit record levels; Scotland named drug death capital of the world
  2023: Scotland advocates for safe consumption room trials

Question 5

what are the contemporary issues?

Answer 5

• internal harms: stigma, criminalisation ,limited treatment and racial inequality
• external harms: violence, corruption, displacement, health and human rights abuses

Question 6

what is war on drugs?

Answer 6

• focused on eliminating drug use through law enforcement

Question 7

what is harm reduction?

Answer 7

• it’s focused on minimising damage from drug use and drug policy (e.g. needle exchanges, heroin prescriptions, drug testing)

Question 8

what are the alternatives to prohibition?

Answer 8

• legalisation
• decriminalisation
• harm reduction without decriminalisation

Question 9

legalisation

Answer 9

• legal cannabis markets: Uruguay, Canada and Germany
• pros: tax revenue, product regulation, age limits and lower policing
  cons: may not eliminate black markets, may increase use and not suitable for all drugs

Question 10

decriminalisation

Answer 10

• portugal (2001): all drugs decriminalised; health-focused model, dramatic success in reducing harm
• Holland: cannabis coffeeshops, soft vs hard drug distinction
• spain: cannabis clubs with member-based access

Question 11

what about harm reduction with decriminalisation

Answer 11

for example the uk already implements some harm reduction:
- needle exchanges
- methadone
- consumption room trials
- drug testing (e.g., the loop)