uk drug scene timeline: 1995–2014 · lambeth cannabis warning scheme (lcws) was introduced as a...
TRANSCRIPT
2 | DRUGLINK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
1995 DeathofLeahBetts(age18).Becauseofthe‘Sorted’campaign,hersbecameoneofthemosthighlypublicisedMDMA-relateddeaths.
1995DelegatesattendingtheACPONationalDrugsConferencerecommendedincreasingtheprovisionofmobileandoutreachneedleandsyringeprogrammes(NSPs)toserviceruralareas.
1996ACPONationalDrugsConferencedelegatescalledforsection9AoftheMisuseofDrugsAct(MDA)1971tobeamendedtoallowdrugservicestosupplyinjectingparaphernalia(e.g.swabs,sterilewater,filters)todruginjectors.
1995LaunchofThe National Treatment Outcome Research Study(NTORS),astudycarriedoutbytheNationalAddictionCentreinEnglandandWalesbetweentheyears1995and2000–thelargestUKdrugtreatmentoutcomestudy.
1996TheDepartmentofHealthTaskForcetoReviewServicesforDrugMisuserspublisheditsReport of an Independent Review of Drug Treatment Services in England.Thereporthighlightedtheneedfordrugtreatmenttobeassessedagainstasetofoutcomemeasures.1995
PublicationofTackling Drugs Together: A strategy for England 1995-1998. Thestrategyhadthesekeystrands:• Increasethesafetyofcommunities
fromdrug-relatedcrime;• Reducetheacceptabilityand
availabilityofdrugstoyoungpeople;• Reducethehealthrisksandother
damagerelatedtodrugmisuse.Thegovernmentalsoannounceditsintentiontocreate:• LocalDrugActionTeams(DATs);• DrugReferenceGroups(DRGs)to
provideasourceoflocalexpertisetoDATs.
DR
UG
TR
END
SLE
GIS
LATI
ON
A
ND
CA
SE L
AWD
RU
G P
OLI
CYLA
W E
NFO
RCE
MEN
T P
REV
ENTI
ON
, TR
EATM
ENT
AN
D
REH
AB
ILIT
ATIO
N
Concludingourtwo-parttimeline,takingusuptodate.CompiledbyHarry ShapiroandGeoff Monaghan.
UK DRUG SCENE TIMELINE: 1995–2014
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 DRUGLINK | 3
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
1999Peakyearforestimatedtotalpopulationofheroin/crackusersataround450,000–withonlyaround50,000intreatment.
1999EnglishandWelshArresteeDrugAbuseMonitoring(NEW-ADAM)Programmewasestablishedtoresearchthelevelsofdrugmisuseamongarresteesrelyingoninterviewingandvoluntarydrugtesting.
1999Reducingdrug-relateddeathsbecameatargetwithintheNationalDrugsStrategy.
1997AppointmentofUKAnti-DrugsCoordinator(akatheDrugCzar),KeithHellawell(formerChiefConstableofWestYorkshirePolice)andhisDeputy,MikeTrace,toheaduptheAnti-DrugsCoordinationUnit(ADCU).
1998TheLabourGovernmentlaunchedits10-yeardrugsstrategyTackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain. Thestrategyhadfourelements:• Youngpeople;• Communities;• Treatment;• Availability.
AdvisoryCouncilontheMisuseofDrugs(ACMD)publishedDrug Misuse and the Environment–thefirstofficialdocumenttopubliclyacknowledgethelinkbetweendruguseanddeprivation.
1997Crime (Sentences) Act 1997Introducedaminimumsentenceof7years’imprisonmentfollowingathirdconvictionforadrugtraffickingoffenceinvolvingaClassAdrug.
1990s
4 | DRUGLINK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2000PMAfirstdetectedintabletssoldas‘ecstasy’. 2001
ForensicScienceServicenotedthatdatafrompoliceandCustomsheroinseizuresshowedthat–unlikecocaine–thepurityofheroinwasalmostidentical.Thisstronglysuggestedthatheroinwasnotbeing‘cut’atstreetlevel.
2000TheNationalIntelligenceModel(NIM),pilotedintheearly1990s,wasrolledouttolawenforcementagenciesacrosstheUK.
2001TheMetropolitanPoliceService(MPS)LambethCannabisWarningScheme(LCWS)wasintroducedasasixmonthpilotproject.Thosefoundinpossessionofsmallquantitiesofcannabisfortheirpersonaluse:(i)hadthedrugsconfiscated;(ii)weregivenawarning–amodificationofexistingMPSandACPOguidance.
2000DrugTreatmentandTestingOrders(DTTOs)introduced.
2001AuditCommissionreportChanging Habitshighlycriticalofthetreatmentsystem.
TheNationalTreatmentAgencyforSubstanceMisuse(NTA)wasestablishedtoimprovetheavailability,capacityandeffectivenessofdrugtreatment.
2000ACMDpublishedReducing Drug Related Deaths.
TheIndependentInquiryintotheMisuseofDrugsActpublisheditsreport:Drugs and the Law (alsoknownastheRuncimanReport).Thereportmade81recommendations,including:• TheclassificationofdrugsintheMDA
shouldbereviewedtotakeaccountofmoderndevelopmentsinmedical,sociologicalandscientificknowledge;
• Section9(offencesrelatingtoopium)and9A(offencesrelatingtosupplyof‘drugparaphernalia’)shouldberepealed;
• Thepossessionofcannabisshouldnotbeanimprisonableoffence.
2001TheHomeOfficepublishedMiddle market drug distribution.
Thereportwasinfluentialamonglawenforcementofficersandtriggeredin-serviceadditionalresearchintodrugpricesandpurity,theidentificationof‘middlemarket’traffickersandledtothecreationofspecialistunitstotacklemiddlemarkettraffickers.
2000‘Wintercomfortcase’.TwocharityworkersfromCambridgeconvictedofallowingpremisestobeusedforthesupplyofheroin.Theirconvictionswereupheldonappeal,howevertheirappealsagainstsentencewereallowed.
2001CriminalJusticeandCourtServicesAct(CJCSA)2000amendedthePoliceandCriminalEvidence(PACE)Act1984toallowforthetakingofasampleofurineoranon-intimatesamplefromapersoninpolicedetentionforthepurposeofascertainingwhethers/hehasanyspecifiedClassAdruginhis/herbody.
DR
UG
TR
END
SLE
GIS
LATI
ON
A
ND
CA
SE L
AWD
RU
G P
OLI
CYLA
W E
NFO
RCE
MEN
T P
REV
ENTI
ON
, TR
EATM
ENT
AN
D R
EHA
BIL
ITAT
ION
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 DRUGLINK | 5
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2004StartofUKheroinprescribingtrial.
2002TheHouseofCommonsHomeAffairsCommittee(HAC)publishedThe Government’s Drug Policy: Is It Working?Therecommendationsincluded:• CannabistobereclassifiedtoC;• EcstasytobereclassifiedtoB;• Anewoffenceof‘supplyforgain’to
distinguishitfromsocialsupply;• Pilotstudyondrugconsumption
rooms.
TheGovernment’sUpdated Drug Strategy waslaunched.Itsmeasuresincluded:• A‘tougherfocusonClassAdrugs’;• Furtherexpansionoftreatment
services;• ANationalCrackActionPlan.
TheACMDpublisheditsreportThe Classification of Cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. TheACMDrecommendedthereclassificationofallcannabispreparationsfromClassBtoClassC.
KeithHellawellresignedas‘DrugCzar’ostensiblyoverdecisiontoreclassifycannabis.ButtheAnti-DrugsCoordinationUnithadalreadybeenabolishedin2001andcontrolofthedrugstrategypassedbacktotheHomeOffice.
2003TheACMDpublished Hidden Harm: Responding to the needs of children of problem drug users.
2002Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 TheActprovidedfortheconfiscationorcivilrecoveryoftheproceedsfromcrimeandcontainedtheprincipalmoneylaunderinglegislationintheUK.
AcaseundertheEuropeanConventiononHumanRightsdecidedthat:Arighttoprivatelifedidnotinvolveorincludearighttoselfintoxication,northerighttopossessionorcultivationofcannabis,whetherforpersonalconsumptionwithinone’shomeorotherwise.
2003Anti-Social Behaviour Act (ASBA) 2003 TheASBAenabledthepoliceandlocalauthoritiestodealwith‘crackhouses’.
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2003 Madeprovisionforlawfulprovisionofarangeofarticles(e.g.citricacid,swabsandfilters)toinjectingdrugusers.
4-Hydroxy-n-butyricacid(commonlyknownas‘GHB’[gamma-Hydroxybutyricacid]controlledasaClassCdrug.
2004CannabisreclassifiedfromClassBtoClassC.
CustomsandExciseattemptedtolevyVATonretailersof‘magicmushrooms’.
2000s
6 | DRUGLINK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2006April:TheSeriousOrganisedCrimeAgency(SOCA)becameoperational.
2005Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005
Section1ofSOCPAestablishedtheSeriousOrganisedCrimeAgency(SOCA).Drugs Act 2005 AmendedPACE1984inrelationtointimatedrugsearchesandenabledthepolicetotakeX-raysandultrasoundscanstodetectthepresenceofClassAdrugs.AlsoamendedtheMDA1971toincludefungicontainingpsilocinasaClassAdrug.
2006KetamineiscontrolledasaClassCdrug.
HomeOfficepublishedplantointroducethresholdquantitiestodistinguish‘possession’from‘possessionwithintenttosupply’.However,afterwidespreadconsultation,theplanisshelved.
2006BBCclaimsofanineffectivetreatmentsystemkickstartamajordebateinthesectorconcerningtherelativemeritsofharmreductionvabstinenceandhowthesectorshouldaddresstheissueoftreatmentoutcomesandthedefinitionofrecovery.
Publicationofnewclinicalguidelinesfortreatingdrugdependency.
2006TheHouseofCommonsScienceandTechnologyCommitteepublishedDrug Classification: Making a Hash of It?
ThereportconcludedthattheclassificationsystemundertheMDAwasnotfitforpurpose.
Havingbeenaskedtolookatcannabisagain,ACMDrecommendedcontinuationofcannabisasaClassCdrug.
HomeOfficerejectedJosephRowntreeFoundationrecommendationonestablishingpilotsfordrugconsumptionrooms.
TheACMDpublisheditsreportPathways to Problems: Hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs by young people in the UK and its implications for policy.
DR
UG
TR
END
SLE
GIS
LATI
ON
A
ND
CA
SE L
AWD
RU
G P
OLI
CYLA
W E
NFO
RCE
MEN
T P
REV
ENTI
ON
, TR
EATM
ENT
AN
D R
EHA
BIL
ITAT
ION
2000s
2005FirstarticleinDruglinkabout‘herbalhighs’.
FirstnewsiteminDruglinkaboutcrystalmethonthegayscene.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 DRUGLINK | 7
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2009ACPOissuedguidanceonthepolicingresponsetopossessionofcannabisandcannabisresinforpersonaluse.Theenforcementmodelisasfollows:• Firstoffence:‘cannabiswarning’
issued;• Secondoffence:£80PenaltyNoticefor
Disorder;• Furtherpossessionoffences:Arrest
forpossessionofacontrolledclassBdrug.
2007KetamineiscontrolledasaClassCdrug.MethylamphetaminereclassifiedfromClassBtoClassA.
2007TheindependentUKDrugPolicyCommission(UKDPC)wassetupto‘provideobjectiveanalysisoftheevidenceconcerningdrugpolicyandpractice’.
TheRoyalSocietyofArtspublisheditsdrugcommissionreportwhoseheadlineconclusionswere:• MisuseofDrugsActnotfitforpurpose;• Drugstrategyleadshouldpass
fromHomeOfficetoDepartmentofCommunitiesandLocalGovernment.
2008ReviseddrugstrategypublishedDrugs: protecting families and communities.
ACMDrecommended–andgovernmentaccepted–controlof15additionalanabolicsteroids.
2009TheACMDpublishedThe Primary Prevention of Hepatitis C Among Injecting Drug Users.
ProfessorDavidNuttdismissedasChairoftheACMD.
2007FirstarticleinDruglinkaboutcannabis‘farms’.
Druglinkstreetdrugsurveyhighlightedtheexistenceofatwo-tiermarketincocaine.
2009OutbreakofanthraxamongheroinusersinScotland.
2009CannabisreclassifiedfromClassCtoClassB.
FirstNPS(Legalhighs)controlled–BZPandSpice.
8 | DRUGLINK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
20104-Methylmethcathinone(popularlyknownasMephedrone)controlledasaClassBdrug.
2011Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (PRSRA) 2011Section151ofthePRSRAinsertedsection2AintotheMDA1971whichallowsforspecifiedsubstancestobeplacedina‘temporaryclass’.
2010TheCoalitionGovernmentpublisheditsdrugstrategy:Reducing demand, restricting supply, building recovery: supporting people to live a drug-free life.Thestrategyhastwooverarchingaims:• Reduceillicitandotherharmfuldrug
use;• Increasethenumbersrecoveringfrom
theirdependence.
ACMDfirstrecommendedthattreatmentservicesshouldbeallowedtolegallydistributefoil.Threeyearslater,thegovernmentfinallyagreed.
DR
UG
TR
END
SLE
GIS
LATI
ON
A
ND
CA
SE L
AWD
RU
G P
OLI
CYLA
W E
NFO
RCE
MEN
T P
REV
ENTI
ON
, TR
EATM
ENT
AN
D R
EHA
BIL
ITAT
ION
2010HeroindroughtintheUK.
2011Figurespublishedfor2009-2010revealseriousoutbreakofanthraxamongScottishheroininjectorsandsmokers.
HealthProtectionScotland(HPS)saidtherewere119casesofanthraxandatotalof14deathsduringtheoutbreak.
Bycomparisonwithsamefiguresfrom1999,totalheroin/crackpopulationdownto250,000withabout150,00intreatment.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 DRUGLINK | 9
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2013TheNationalCrimeAgency(NCA)becameoperational,replacingtheSeriousOrganisedCrimeAgency.
2014Thedayafterthelegislationcameintoforce,policeinHounslow,westLondon,werethefirstinLondontoissuea‘khatwarning’anda‘khat£60penaltynotice’.
2013Crime and Courts Act 2013 TheActcreatedanewoffenceofdriving,orbeinginachargeof,amotorvehiclewithconcentrationsofspecifiedcontrolleddrugsinexcessofspecifiedlevels.
2014KhatcontrolledasaClassCdrug.
2013NTAfoldedintothenewlycreatedPublicHealthEngland
2012TheACMDpublisheditsreport:Novel psychoactive substances.
TheUKDPCpublisheditsfinalreportA Fresh Approach to Drugs • Thereisawidespreadviewthatcurrent
drugpolicyisnotworkingwell;• Newchallengesareputtingfurther
pressureontheabilityofexistingdrugpoliciestoreducetheharmthatdrugusecancause;
• Evidence-basedapproachescanprovideamoreeffectivepolicythatoffersbettervalueformoney.
2013TheACMDpublishedKetamine: a review of use and harm.TheACMDrecommendedthatketaminebecontrolledundertheMDAasaClassBdrug.
2014ACMDRecoveryCommitteerejectstheideasoftime-limitedtreatment.
2010s