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We could save lives if we change UK drug laws and sell cocaine and MDMA in regulated pharmacies
By taking drug supply out of the hands of organised crime, and putting the state in charge, we can start to change the way we deal with drug problems
By James Nicholls
October 22, 2020 6:00 am
A mock up of the single doses sold in child-proof pharmaceutical style packaging.
A record breaking 2,883 people – about 55 every week – died as a result of an overdose in England and Wales last year. Cocaine deaths are now six times more than a decade ago, with deaths among women increasing far more quickly than among men. The UK accounts for around a third of all drug-related deaths in Europe, and has a market now estimated to be worth £9.4 billion a year. The cost to society is closer to £20 billion.
The war on drugs is not working. Drugs are stronger, cheaper and easier to buy than ever before and despite hundreds of billions spent globally on prosecution, drug harms have not been reduced. In fact, it has added to them.
Making this system work is far less improbable than the unachievable goal of a ‘drug-free world’ (Photo: Andy Buchanan/Getty)
Most illegal drugs can be dangerous – as can legal drugs like alcohol, itself a very potent psychoactive substance. However, unlike alcohol, the illegal drug trade is riven with violence, exploitation and corruption that hurts everyone from poor farmers in Colombia to vulnerable children caught up in county lines operations across the UK. Unlike alcohol, the strength of currently illegal drugs remain completely unknown, and they may be mixed with all sorts of other adulterants.
Every death caused by either violence in the supply chain or inadvertent overdose is a tragedy, leaving a family bereaved and loved ones in mourning. We should never forget that fact.
As consensus begins to emerge on the failure of our current approach the responsibility to find alternatives arises. Like climate change, we are beyond the point of identifying the problem – now is the time to look seriously at the solutions.
This has already begun for cannabis. We have seen it legalised and regulated in Canada, Uruguay and many states of America. The debate on reform in the UK is lively and public opinion is in support of change. However, we cannot leave other drugs behind. Indeed, the case is perhaps more pressing for those substances that pose a greater risk of physical, and in some cases, social harm. It is because of those risks, not despite them, that we need a different approach.
That is why the charity I lead, Transform Drug Policy Foundation, is arguing for the responsible regulation of cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines. It does not suggest a free-for-all, or indeed a commercial market in any normal sense. Rather, it sets out a regulatory system in which sale is limited to Government-run specialist pharmacies, with products sold in plain packages, similar to pharmaceutical products, and only in limited amounts. Retailers would be trained to provide health advice and to help direct people to treatment and support where appropriate.
Rather than a nudge and a wink, the sale will come with harm reduction and health advice (Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Consumers would be able to purchase without a prescription, but only single doses sold in child-proof, pharmaceutical style packaging. High-risk drugs, such as crack cocaine and injectable amphetamines, would be managed in a health framework that included options for supervised consumption spaces, substitute prescribing and wraparound support.
By taking drug supply out of the hands of organised crime, and putting the state in charge, we can start to change the way we deal with drug problems.
Currently, the crack and heroin markets are characterised by cheap offers and two-for-one deals that are designed precisely to increase use; by contrast, state-licensed suppliers will not be motivated to increase demand. The recent rise in MDMA-related deaths has mostly been due to accidental overdose caused by pills being far stronger than expected. Clear labelling will ensure people know what they are buying, reducing both overdose and the risk of poisoning.
Such a proposal may seem far-fetched to some people (although state-run sales of alcohol are normal in Scandinavia, Canada and many other parts of the world). However, making this system work is far less improbable than the unachievable goal of a ‘drug-free world’ that remains the explicit objective of the global war on drugs.
If we are to go beyond criticising drug policy, and we must do so, then we need to set out what an alternative would look like. We need to go into that difficult territory and start to put together a new vision.
Our new book does that, and for some of the most challenging substances currently being used. Hopefully, it will help open the way to a wider debate on how we can do better for everyone.
James Nicholls is CEO of Transform Drug Policy Foundation
By taking drug supply out of the hands of organised crime, and putting the state in charge, we can start to change the way we deal with drug problems
By James Nicholls
October 22, 2020 6:00 am
A record breaking 2,883 people – about 55 every week – died as a result of an overdose in England and Wales last year. Cocaine deaths are now six times more than a decade ago, with deaths among women increasing far more quickly than among men. The UK accounts for around a third of all drug-related deaths in Europe, and has a market now estimated to be worth £9.4 billion a year. The cost to society is closer to £20 billion.
The war on drugs is not working. Drugs are stronger, cheaper and easier to buy than ever before and despite hundreds of billions spent globally on prosecution, drug harms have not been reduced. In fact, it has added to them.
Most illegal drugs can be dangerous – as can legal drugs like alcohol, itself a very potent psychoactive substance. However, unlike alcohol, the illegal drug trade is riven with violence, exploitation and corruption that hurts everyone from poor farmers in Colombia to vulnerable children caught up in county lines operations across the UK. Unlike alcohol, the strength of currently illegal drugs remain completely unknown, and they may be mixed with all sorts of other adulterants.
Every death caused by either violence in the supply chain or inadvertent overdose is a tragedy, leaving a family bereaved and loved ones in mourning. We should never forget that fact.
As consensus begins to emerge on the failure of our current approach the responsibility to find alternatives arises. Like climate change, we are beyond the point of identifying the problem – now is the time to look seriously at the solutions.
This has already begun for cannabis. We have seen it legalised and regulated in Canada, Uruguay and many states of America. The debate on reform in the UK is lively and public opinion is in support of change. However, we cannot leave other drugs behind. Indeed, the case is perhaps more pressing for those substances that pose a greater risk of physical, and in some cases, social harm. It is because of those risks, not despite them, that we need a different approach.
That is why the charity I lead, Transform Drug Policy Foundation, is arguing for the responsible regulation of cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines. It does not suggest a free-for-all, or indeed a commercial market in any normal sense. Rather, it sets out a regulatory system in which sale is limited to Government-run specialist pharmacies, with products sold in plain packages, similar to pharmaceutical products, and only in limited amounts. Retailers would be trained to provide health advice and to help direct people to treatment and support where appropriate.
Rather than a nudge and a wink, the sale will come with harm reduction and health advice (Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Consumers would be able to purchase without a prescription, but only single doses sold in child-proof, pharmaceutical style packaging. High-risk drugs, such as crack cocaine and injectable amphetamines, would be managed in a health framework that included options for supervised consumption spaces, substitute prescribing and wraparound support.
By taking drug supply out of the hands of organised crime, and putting the state in charge, we can start to change the way we deal with drug problems.
Currently, the crack and heroin markets are characterised by cheap offers and two-for-one deals that are designed precisely to increase use; by contrast, state-licensed suppliers will not be motivated to increase demand. The recent rise in MDMA-related deaths has mostly been due to accidental overdose caused by pills being far stronger than expected. Clear labelling will ensure people know what they are buying, reducing both overdose and the risk of poisoning.
If we are to go beyond criticising drug policy, and we must do so, then we need to set out what an alternative would look like.
Rather than a nudge and a wink, the sale will come with harm reduction and health advice as part of a holistic system geared towards encouraging less, not more, consumption. And rather than spending billions policing supply, while every penny of profit goes to a shadow economy, the income from the market can be channelled into the help and support people with drug problems desperately need.Such a proposal may seem far-fetched to some people (although state-run sales of alcohol are normal in Scandinavia, Canada and many other parts of the world). However, making this system work is far less improbable than the unachievable goal of a ‘drug-free world’ that remains the explicit objective of the global war on drugs.
If we are to go beyond criticising drug policy, and we must do so, then we need to set out what an alternative would look like. We need to go into that difficult territory and start to put together a new vision.
Our new book does that, and for some of the most challenging substances currently being used. Hopefully, it will help open the way to a wider debate on how we can do better for everyone.
James Nicholls is CEO of Transform Drug Policy Foundation
