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Written question asked by Dai Davies (Independent (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 26 February 2010. It was answered by Alan Campbell (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 March 2010 on behalf of the Home Office.

Drugs

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects on society of the use of psychoactive substances by individuals.
Answer

The Home Office has published research which addresses the effect on society of Class A drug use:"'The economic and social costs of Class A drug use in England and Wales in 2003-04', provides a measure of the total costs to society of Class A drug use. In Measuring different aspects of problem drug use: methodological developments""http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1606.pdf""'Measuring the harm from illegal drugs using the Drug Harm Index 2006', provides an overarching measure of the harm caused by illegal drugs including drug-related crime, community perceptions of drug use and drug dealing and the various health consequences that arise from drug misuse.""http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr13.pdf"In addition, assessment of a drug's societal harms is made on a case by case basis informed by advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in respect of those drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or which have been considered for control. The ACMD's recent reports can be found at:"http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/index.html"

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
507 c221W; 319668
Session
2009-10
Subjects
Drugs Misuse
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk