In December 2010 the Coalition Government set out its ambition to bear down on the supply of illicit drugs, introduce temporary bans on the so called 'legal highs' and to promote recovery of drug users within their communities. Its ultimate aim is to build a momentum to tackle drugs and drug-driven crime, whilst helping people to become drug free.
The strategy sets out a fundamentally different approach to tackling drugs and an entirely new ambition to reduce drug use and dependence. It now considers dependence on all drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines. It recognises that severe alcohol dependence raises similar issues and that treatment providers are often one and the same. It sets out that services provided in the community and in prison must be more integrated.
The three main strands within the Drugs Strategy are:
- Reducing Demand
- Restricting Supply
- Building recovery in communities
- Reducing demand - by creating an environment where the vast majority of people who have never taken drugs continue to resist any pressures to do so, and making it easier for those that do to stop. This is essential to reduce the huge societal costs, particularly the lost ambition and potential of young drug users.
- Restricting supply - drugs cost the UK £15.4 billion each year. The strategy should make the UK an unattractive destination for drug traffickers by attacking their profits and driving up their risks;
- Building recovery in communities - the strategy will support people who want to take the steps necessary to tackle their dependency on drugs and alcohol. It will offer a route out of dependency by putting recovery at the heart of all that we do.
Success has not been defined within the strategy, but has set two overarching aims:
- Reduce illicit and other harmful drug use; and
- Increase the numbers recovering from their dependence.
Strategy
The DAAT follows national standards for the commissioning, delivering and monitoring of adult and young people's drug treatment set out by the National Treatment Agency (NTA) which was launched in April 2001. Local delivery of the strategy has historically been overseen by the Government of South East (GOSE) but since its demise in April 2011, the local delivery continues to be overseen through a performance structure with strategic oversight by the DAAT Executive.
Although targets for the new strategy have not been detailed, the DAAT continues to aspire to the previous targets which are as follows:
Young people - to reduce the proportion of young people using the drugs that cause most harm- heroin and cocaine.
Communities - to reduce levels of repeat offending among drug misusing offenders.
Treatment - to increase the number of problem drug misusers, including prisoners, taking part in drug treatment programmes that have a positive impact on health and crime.
Availability - to significantly reduce access to all drugs amongst young people under 25, and to reduce access to the drugs which cause greatest harm, particularly heroin and cocaine.
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