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Tackling drug crime in local communities

This debate pack sets out the government's current policy on drug crime and other resources in advance of the debate on tackling drug crime in local communities.

The production, supply and possession of “controlled drugs” is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA). It provides the legislative basis for the UK’s response to illicit drugs. The MDA is complimented by the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (MDR) which allows for the lawful possession of controlled drugs for medicinal or therapeutic uses.

The Home Office is the lead department on the misuse of drugs in the UK Government. However, it works in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care and others in this area. Misuse of drugs legislation is reserved and applies across the UK.

Statistics for drug offences are published by the Library in the briefing paper Drug Crime: Statistics for England and Wales.

On 8 February 2019, Professor Dame Carol Black was appointed to lead a 2- part review looking into “the ways in which drugs are fuelling serious violence and at treatment, recovery and prevention”. In December 2021, the Government published its 10-year drug plan which it described as its “formal, substantive response to the Independent Reviews of Drugs led by Dame Carol Black and accepts all of her key recommendations.”

A particular area of concern in recent years has been the operation of County Lines. As explained in the Library’s briefing on serious youth violence, these groups this type of drug dealing is strongly associated with the coercion of children and vulnerable people through violence and weapons. The government addresses county lines specifically in their Serious Violence Strategy.