The second part of a major review by Professor Dame Carol Black into the misuse of illegal drugs in England has been launched, the Government has announced.
Building on an initial phase commissioned by the Home Office, the next stage of the review will focus on treatment, recovery and prevention, with an overarching aim of ensuring vulnerable people with substance misuse problems get the support they need to recover and turn their lives around in the community and in prison.
The review will consider how treatment services can enable people with a drug dependency to achieve and sustain their recovery – spanning a wide range of services they may interact with across mental health, housing, employment, and the criminal justice system.
Professor Dame Carol Black has been appointed to lead the review following her initial report commissioned by the Home Office, which looked at the challenges around drug supply and demand. It found drug deaths are at an all-time high, the market has become much more violent and drugs are costing society billions of pounds every year.
As part of the next phase of the review Dame Carol has launched a call for evidence and will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including hearing from service users and people with lived experience of drug addiction to build a detailed picture of treatment, recovery and prevention.
Dame Carol will be provided with expert support from Dr. Ed Day, an NHS substance misuse consultant and Government drug recovery champion, and Dr. Keith Humphreys, a US academic and former drug policy advisor to President Obama with substantial expertise in this field and an international perspective.
Dame Carol is expected to submit initial recommendations in September and her final report in December this year.
The terms of reference for the review and call for evidence will be live on gov.uk in due course. The call for evidence will close on Thursday 30 July.
The Government is already responding to Dame Carol’s findings with further investment to significantly increase the law enforcement response to county lines and the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers over the next three years.
The Government has pledged to address the complex challenges caused by drug misuse, with a cross-government addiction strategy due to be published in early 2021.
