Published: 16 October 2006
Government announces Way Forward on Drugs
The Government has moved to reclassify the highly-addictive club drug 'crystal meth' in recognition of the harm it can cause to individuals and society as a whole, following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
To reclassify methylamphetamine from a Class B to a Class A drug an amendment is required to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Such an amendment is made by an Order in Privy Council which is first subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, requiring a draft of the Order to be debated in both Houses of Parliament.
This Parliamentary process has now begun with the laying of the draft of the Order on Thursday 12th October 2006. Subject to this parliamentary process, the Government will make this law change at the earliest opportunity.
The Government has outlined its commitment to the current classification system, which classifies drugs according to medical & social harms, as well as the type of illegal activity undertaken in regard to that drug.
In its response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report on drug classification, laid before Parliament last week, the Government re-iterates the key priorities of its drugs strategy - education, enforcement & treatment - and says that it has decided, after careful consideration, not to proceed with a review of the classification system at this time.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
"It is important that there is a coherent system in place to categorise drugs and determine the penalties for their manufacture, possession and supply.
I believe that the existing classification system does this effectively, allowing for clear and meaningful distinctions to be made between drugs.
"I have spent the past few months meeting frontline police, victims of crime, drug addicts and others involved in the criminal justice system.
None of them have raised the classification system as a concern that affects them with me.
I believe it is vital that we focus our energies on tackling drugs supply, getting more drug users into treatment and educating young people about the dangers of drugs."
The Government says that it will continue to focus on the high harms caused by Class A drugs, which to the individual can be acute physical harm (including risk of overdose and risks associated with injecting) as well as other harms such as dependence & addiction, and psychological harms.
To society these can be the effects from intoxication & altered behaviour as well as associated acquisitive and organised crime.
In its response to the Committee’s report the ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) has welcomed many of the Committee's recommendations, but makes clear that the report contains significant inaccuracies and misrepresents the Council's work.
Regarding the report’s claim that the ACMD fails to consider social factors, it claimed that Council's reports on cannabis, 'crystal meth' and khat all discuss social issues. Plus the ACMD's most recent reports - 'Hidden Harm' and 'Pathways to Problems' - deal almost entirely with social problems associated with substance misuse.
The Committee's report also says the Council does not stress the need for more research in key drug misuse areas, but the ACMD claims that it always recommends further drug research when its work identifies gaps in the available evidence.
ACMD Chair Sir Michael Rawlins said:
"The Committee makes some interesting points but the Council is disappointed by the errors and misconceptions in the report.
Social factors are at the heart of the ACMD's work and these are fully reflected in our reports.
The Council is always vocal when there is a need for further research and our calls for Government action have an excellent track record.
It is gratifying that the Government continues to recognise the valuable contribution that the ACMD's work makes to issues relating to substance misuse."
Mr Coaker also announced that the Government would not be implementing a proposal, consulted on earlier this year, to set a threshold for the amount of drugs a person can possess without being charged with dealing.
The responses to the consultation on Section 2 of the Drugs Act 2005, which proposed introducing a national threshold, showed a lack of consensus on both the provision and the level at which the threshold should be set.
In the light of these considerations the Government has decided not to commence this provision at the present time. Mr Coaker said he will however keep the matter under review.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has confirmed that not introducing this provision will have no adverse effect on policing.
It is confident that existing tactics are sufficient to ensure that dealers are brought to justice and it will shortly publish updated guidance on policing cannabis.
Mr Coaker said:
"The Home Secretary has already committed to devolve more responsibility to frontline services such as the police.
I am extremely impressed at the effective work the police have done in tackling drug related crime and don't want to introduce any measures at this time that might increase the burden on forces and affect their performance”.
In addition, the Home Office has published a statistical bulletin covering the extent of illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales in 2005/06 and trends in drug use since 1998, which marks the beginning of the Government's Drug Strategy, based on data from the British Crime Survey.
Further information
Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the BCS 2005/06
Science and Technology Committee Report on drugs classifications (Making a Hash of it?)
Government response to Committee report
Drug.go.uk website
Summary of responses to the Home Office consultation on Section 2 of the Drugs Act 2005
ACMD's full response to the Science and Technology Committee report
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
Hidden Harm
Pathways to Problems
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