As you’ve probably noticed, there won’t be one big series of posts on independence this year. Instead, there’ll be shorter three/or four-part series – including revisiting and updating topics I’ve covered in the past.
One of those topics is drug policy and independence, first looked at on the old Oggy Bloggy Ogwr in 2014. Alcohol (IndyWales & Alcohol) and tobacco/nicotine (IndyWales, Smoking & Vaping) have been looked at separately, but for the sake of clarification, this is about controlled/illegal recreational drugs.
To kick things off, a science lesson.
Drugs and medicines policy remain one of the largest policy areas not devolved to Wales.
Control of medicines in England and Wales are a function of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Medicine regulation is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland (the latter retaining some EU regulations post-Brexit) but when it comes to narcotics policies, it’s a reserved matter for the UK Parliament and Government.
So while the Welsh Government and Senedd have some responsibilities in the area – mainly the public health and social elements – they can’t change drug misuse laws.
The Welsh Government’s Substance Abuse Strategy
The latest Substance Misuse Strategy7 focuses on five key themes:
- Preventing harm – Early intervention for people with substance abuse problems and providing information so people can make “informed choices” to reduce the risk of harm.
- Support for substance abusers – This includes outreach programmes, drug rehabilitation, working with young offenders and making sure substance misuse services are joined up.
- Protecting families of substance abusers – This includes identifying the causes of substance misuse in families and intervening in those families where appropriate.
- Reducing the availability of illegal substances – Although criminal justice isn’t devolved, this includes working with trading standards to limit alcohol sales to children via the licensing system, as well as working with authorities to clamp down on drug dealing.
- Workforce development and partnerships – A skilled substance abuse workforce and working with service users to deliver and plan substance abuse services.
Apart from that last bit, it’s unchanged from the previous 10-year Substance Misuse Strategy (2008-2018). So the line of thinking by the Welsh Government hasn’t changed that much.
Supporting the Welsh Government strategies are the likes of DAN 24/7 (24-hour bilingual substance abuse helpline) and WEDINOS (a means for public authorities to test new or emerging drugs).
Attitudes towards drugs policy in Welsh civil society
Apart from a spike in interest around so-called “legal highs” around 2015, the Senedd’s lack of powers in this area has resulted in a focus on harm reduction and community safety rather than the criminal justice element (Part III).
In a 2012 UK Drugs Commission Poll of 31 Members of the Senedd8:
- 67% of the MSs (AMs as they were known then) questioned believed the UK’s current drug policies weren’t working. Only 14% agreed.
- 63% believed drugs were too controversial a topic to have an objective discussion on.
- 67% believed drug policy should be driven by evidence and research.
- MSs were more evenly split on whether Wales should have powers over drugs: 44% in favour and 48% against.
- 33% believed possession of small amounts of illegal drugs should be decriminalised, while 50% disagreed (Part III).
While Labour seems to support a harm reduction approach, they haven’t moved much beyond that officially; there hasn’t been any great clamour for Wales to have additional powers over drug policy either.
In 2021, Jayne Bryant MS (Lab, Newport West) held a short debate in support of a public health approach towards drugs (rather than an exclusively criminal justice approach), even possible decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis – though it’s not clear if this represents a majority view within Labour.
The Greens, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru have long supported a public health approach. Former Police & Crime Commissioner for North Wales, Arfon Jones, was outspoken in support of supervised drug consumption rooms. More recently, Peredur Owen Griffiths MS (Plaid, South Wales East) held a short debate calling for the introduction of overdose prevention centres and drug consumption rooms.
Taking it together, there’s a consensus of sorts that the current approach to drug laws – and the routine criminalisation of drug users – doesn’t work. Despite this, drugs have rarely featured in the 2024 UK General Election campaign. Broadly-speaking, the Tories and Labour prefer the status quo; Plaid Cymru support a public health approach; Lib Dems and Greens want to discuss liberalisation of drug laws; Reform UK want a more hardline criminal justice approach (Part III).
Those who’ve stuck their heads up above the parapet to speak about this deserve credit. It wasn’t that long ago that supporting decriminalisation, or a public health approach to drugs, would end a political career.
Nonetheless, in Wales there remains a moral cowardice around the drugs debate and discussing the merits and “success” of the War on Drugs.
Some politicians will be more than willing to play up for the cameras and happily proclaim any mention of drug law reform as “being soft on crime”. Or, equally worse, despite having reservations about current drug policies, they don’t want to take responsibility for it.
7. Welsh Government (October 2019). “Substance abuse delivery plan 2019-2022”. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-10/substance-misuse-delivery-plan-2019-22.pdf
8. Uk Drug Policy Commission (9th September 2012). “Politicians’ views on drug policy”. Available at: https://www.ukdpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/politicians-views-on-drug-policy1.pdf
