The reality gap in drug policy

Media reporting of recent overviews of British drug policy has concluded that the drug strategy has failed. And looking at the headline figures, it would be hard for any member of the general public to think otherwise. Indeed, the media gleefully leap on reports such as these for its daily dose of doom and gloom. So despite the investment, we have not seen a decrease in users of heroin or crack, still only a small percentage of drugs bound for the UK are seized, cocaine use has increased, cannabis farms are sprouting up everywhere and drug education must have failed because young people still try drugs. And so on.

So what can we say about this? Well, no drug strategy ever created has succeeded in substantially reducing drug use among any sector of the population or reducing the amount of drugs in circulation however much money has been thrown at it. The results of measuring the success of a policy against such basic indicators are inevitable.

By the same token, government measures of its own success are often equally flawed – and based mainly on quantity rather than quality – numbers in treatment, numbers of hits on the FRANK website, amounts of cash invested. And there are some developments that the government cannot in all honesty take credit for, such the reduction (according to the British Crime Survey and Home Office seizure stats) in the use of LSD, amphetamine and ecstasy which is to do with fashion and the workings of the drug market.

Because the things that maybe make the most difference are those which are difficult or even impossible to measure; the respect shown to a potential service user that persuaded them to come for their next appointment; the probation officer that went the extra mile for a client; the signal moment when a young person could have gone down the wrong road, but for a teacher who had faith in their abilities; the number of users who didn't die because of harm reduction strategies.

Scary for policy makers, but which leads to the thought that while matching investment against outcomes is a highly fraught exercise – this should take nothing away from the efforts of dedicated workers right across the health, social care and criminal justice sectors who are trying to make a difference to those with drug problems, their families and carers and the wider community. They deserve continued investment to support their efforts and so do the people they serve. Let’s start thinking outside the tick box.