National drive to reduce harms from illegal drugs needs more focus on causes, warns watchdog

Efforts to tackle harms to society caused by illegal drugs are being thwarted by too little focus on prevention, uncertain future funding, and a lack of hard evidence, the UK’s public spending watchdog has warned.A report from the National Audit Office published on 20 October warned of substantial challenges ahead for the government in its drive to cut harms from illegal drugs.1 In 2021 the government published a 10 year cross department drug strategy for England,2 underlined by a £903m funding commitment for the first three years of the strategy (2022 to 2025). This included £768m to enhance treatment and recovery services, £105m to disrupt supply, and £30m to reduce long term demand.The strategy document said the government had estimated that the harm caused by illegal drugs costs society £20bn each year, with an estimated three million people in England and Wales using illegal drugs.The strategy, overseen by the newly…
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