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ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS
BACKS DECRIMINALISATION
IN WHAT IS BEING SEEN AS A LANDMARK MOVE, the
Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has issued a statement
backing drug decriminalisation. After a meeting of its
council the RCP has signalled its formal support for the
Royal Society of Public Health’s Taking a new line on
drugs report from two years ago (DDN,
July/August 2016, page 4) and the ‘evidence-
based recommendations’ it advocates.
Among the recommendations were for the
personal possession of all illegal drugs to be
decriminalised, and for a transfer of
responsibility for drug policy from the Home
Office to the Department of Health. ‘The RCP
strongly supports the view that drug
addiction must be considered a health issue
first and foremost’ the statement reads,
adding that the organisation had been
‘alarmed’ by rising rates of drug-related
deaths (DDN, September 2017, page 4) as well
as increasing numbers of drug poisonings and
hospital admissions with a primary or secondary
diagnosis of drug-related mental and behavioural
disorders (DDN, March, page 5).
The statistics ‘demonstrate a clear need for physical,
psychological and social support and care for people
addicted to drugs’, says RCP, adding that diminishing
resources in the field were ‘of critical concern’. The royal
college ‘seeks urgent action to prioritise and increase
investment in public health services and workforce in
order to meet rising population need’ it states. The RCP,
which has a membership almost 35,000, is the most
high profile medical body so far to back drug law reform.
SILO STUDY
The government needs to ensure that its
next alcohol and mental health strategies
address the needs of people with co-
occurring conditions, says a report from the
Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and the
Centre for Mental Health. The treatment
systems for both sectors ‘fail to
acknowledge each
other’s existence’, says
Alcohol and mental
health: policy and
practice in England, with
the accessibility and
quality of care offered to
homeless people a
particular concern. While
financial constraints on
local authorities are a
major factor, so is poor
communication and lack
‘We are delighted that the Royal College of Physicians
has voted to endorse our position on drug policy reform,’
said RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer. ‘That such an
influential medical body has put its weight behind a
public health and harm reduction approach to drugs,
‘it is critical
that the health
community
speaks with a
united voice...’
shirley Cramer
including the decriminalisation of personal possession
and use, goes to show just how far the debate on this
issue has moved forward – and how far behind the curve
many politicians in the UK still are.’
There was now a growing consensus that ‘criminal
justice approaches’ to drug harm had failed, she added.
‘It is critical that the health community speaks with a
united voice on this issue in order to drive meaningful
policy change, and so we hope other medical colleges
will soon follow the lead of the RCP.’
RCP statement at www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/rcp-
supports-royal-society-public-health-report-drug-policy
of trust, the organisations state. ‘Our report
shines a light on what professionals in both
alcohol and mental health service sectors
have known for some time – but the
problems of joint service provision have
rarely been acknowledged outside both
fields until now,’ said IAS chief executive
Katherine Brown.
Report at www.ias.org.uk
‘the problems of
joint service
provision have rarely
been acknowledged
outside both fields.’
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Katherine Brown
RISKY BUSINESS
THE UK’S COMPARATIVELY LOW THRESHOLD for
recommended safe drinking levels has been
supported by a major study in the Lancet. Risk
thresholds for alcohol consumption studied
almost 600,000 people without previous
cardiovascular disease across 19 countries, and
found the ‘minimum mortality risk’ to be
around, or below, 100g of alcohol per week.
Drinking above that level was found to increase
the risk of heart failure, stroke, fatal
hypertensive disease and fatal aortic aneurysm.
While people drinking at the current UK
guideline levels would face little increased risk,
drinking above two units a day means the
‘death rates steadily climb’, said Winton
professor for the public understanding of risk at
Cambridge University, Prof David Spiegelhalter.
‘The paper estimates a 40-year-old drinking four
units a day above the guidelines has roughly
two years lower life expectancy, which is around
a twentieth of their remaining life. So it’s as if
each unit above guidelines is taking, on average,
about 15 minutes of life, about the same as a
cigarette.’ Study at www.thelancet.com
PROPER PROTECTION
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE FAILING to
protect their students from the ‘potential
harms of drugs’, according to a report from the
NUS and Release. The document is based on a
review of institutional support available at
more than 150 universities and colleges, as
well as a survey of over 2,800 UK students.
Forty per cent of students said they would not
feel comfortable disclosing information about
their drug use because of fear of punishment,
while in the 2016-17 academic year there were
more than 500 incidents of students being
reported to the police for possession. ‘We are
deeply concerned about the punitive approach
taken towards student drug use in some
institutions and the appropriateness of support
that is offered around drugs in most cases,’ said
policy researcher at Release, Zoe Carre.
Taking the hit: student drug use and how
institutions respond at www.release.org.uk
PARENT PLEDGE
THE GOVERNMENT HAS PLEDGED to increase
support for the estimated 200,000 children
living with alcohol-dependent parents. The
plans include faster identification of at-risk
children and early intervention programmes to
reduce the number of children taken into care,
and are backed by £6m funding from DHSC and
DWP. Public health minister Steve Brine has
also been named as dedicated minister with
specific responsibility for the issue. ‘All children
deserve to feel safe – and it is a cruel reality
that those growing up with alcoholic parents
are robbed of this basic need,’ he said.
May 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 5