THE CONTEXT OF OUR WORK
There is a need for:
- Rational analysis of solid evidence to underpin UK drug policy and its implementation, leading to more promising and effective solutions;
- Rigorous and regular independent evaluation of UK drug policy;
- A more informed public debate to provide the space for a productive and objective response to the UK's drug problems.
A LACK OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
Accompanying our launch we published an independent report, An Analysis of UK Drug Policy, which concluded:
- "the current shortage of research means that policy makers have to operate partially blind when choosing effective measures to reduce the serious harms associated with the use of illicit drugs."
Scotland’s Futures Forum, a ‘think tank’ for the Scottish Government, concluded:
- “Notwithstanding a very high growth rate of publications in scientific journals, the use of this evidence to inform policy and practice across the board is generally weak and the research base itself is patchy. For example, the larger investment in enforcement than treatment responses is not based on comparative evidence of outcomes. Where strong evidence relating to alcohol and drugs does exist, it is not shared widely enough in the public domain to counterbalance influences on policy and practice based on prejudice or ignorance.”
An Academy of Medical Sciences report emphasised that:
- “Improvements are needed in our information on the prevalence, duration and type of recreational drug use in the population, to enable more effective targeting of resources.”
- “Regulation and policy around recreational drugs…must move forward in a way that is informed by advances in research and the views of the public.”
In response to the recent UK drug strategy consultation, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs wrote:
- "It is of concern that the evidence presented, and the interpretation given, are not based on rigorous scrutiny. It is not acknowledged that in many cases the information is uncertain and sometimes of poor quality. It is disappointing that the consultation paper makes no mention of needing to improve the evidence base of drug misuse and treatments nor makes use of international evidence, for informing and guiding policy."
The House of Commons Science & Technology Committee has noted:
- "UK investment in addiction research is woefully inadequate. The Government's failure to ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to building the evidence base to underpin drugs policy is at odds with its commitment to adopt an evidence based approach.
- "The Government has been remiss in failing to conduct a proper evaluation of the impact of its policy decisions ... and has, as a result, missed out on opportunities to gather valuable data to improve policy making in the future".
The government spends nearly £1.5bn per annum on implementing the drug strategy. Further indirect costs to the health service, courts and prisons etc. mean total expenditure each year is estimated at between £2.9 and £5.3bn. However, the UK invests comparatively very little in independent evaluation of drug policies and policy related research. There is not enough transparency in this area, but according to the Home Office 2007 annual report the department plans to spend £194,376,000 directly towards the drugs target in 2007-08. Of this, £900,000 is allocated for monitoring and evaluation, which represents less than 0.5% of total spend.
As a comparison, 22% of US spend on treatment and prevention is expected to be spent on research in 2008 - over $1bn.
