RESEARCH REPORTS
Making UK drug policy a success: reforming the Policymaking Process
Due: 17 December 2021
Bad practice in drug policymaking is the hidden driver of the UK’s current crisis, finds the CDPRG’s new report — with polling data showing the majority of MPs from all parties believe it needs an evidence-based update. The report makes 23 recommendations for improving how UK drug policy is made. These relate to understanding the problem, setting goals, policy design, costing, local commissioning, outcome monitoring, evaluation, accountability and overall policy improvement. To identify better ways forward for drug policymaking in the UK, the CDPRG’s consultation process included individual expert interviews and two roundtables with the Institute for Government and DrugScience, on cross-cutting policies and building capacity for research and evaluation.
Steps Toward Evidence-BaseD Regulation of Controlled Cannabinoids In Non-Medicinal CBD PRoducts
Published 26 February 2021
Read the accompanying letter to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
This new paper co-authored by our Director of Research Dave King with the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC) addresses the most pressing questions that precede the formulation of Government policy on cannabidiol (CBD), making the crucial recommendation of a medically considered lower limit for THC content in non-controlled cannabinoid-containing products; the “zero-threshold”. The report was provided to the ACMD with the intention of assisting them in fulfilling a recent Home Office request for advice related to consumer CBD goods. The CDPRG recommends urgently clarifying and adapting existing policy to ensure that it reflects the available scientific evidence on cannabinoids and is fit for purpose.
Medicinal Use of Psilocybin: Reducing restrictions on research and treatment
Published 27 July 2020
Access the Press Pack (Press Release, Author Bios, Supporting Statements, Key Findings documents)
A new paper, co-released by the Adam Smith Institute and the Conservative Drugs Policy Reform Group and authored by leading researchers from King’s College London, and the University of Manchester, argues that the rescheduling of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, could help avert a looming mental health crisis.
This could not only improve the lives of those suffering this debilitating mental illness, but could also save the NHS billions and contribute substantially to the British economy.
The UK Review of Medicinal Cannabis: The Needs of A Nation | Part A: “The Current Landscape”
Published 23 April 2020
Access the Press Pack (Press Release, Executive Summary, Key Findings, Contributor Perspectives)
Almost exactly twenty years after a House of Lords committee recommended moving cannabis to Schedule 2, HMG rescheduled cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPM) to allow specialist doctors to prescribe them as unlicensed medicines and to reduce the obstacles to clinical research.
This comprehensive report documents the ways in which this policy change, enacted on 01 November 2018, has shaped the emergence of medicinal cannabis in the UK.
Public Attitudes to Drugs in the UK 2019: Is the UK ready for drug policy reform?
Published 3 September 2019
Read regional breakdowns of topline survey findings
This major survey commissioned by the CDPRG from YouGov explores public attitudes to drugs and drug reform in 2019. The research focuses on three key areas; Medicinal cannabis, Adult-use cannabis markets, and Wider drug policy reform.
This report explores the survey findings, looking at the attitudes of the British public overall as well as among Conservative voters, and finds that there is a clear recognition that the government’s current approach to drug policy in the UK is not working to reduce harms, although there is less consensus on an alternative approach should be.
BRIEFING PAPERS
The Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group’s Recommendations On the Motion Concerning Limits on the Content of Controlled Cannabinoids in Cannabidiol Products at the 63rd United Nations Session on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on 02 December 2020
Published on 01 December 2020
This briefing paper, sent to the Prime Minister on 20 November 2020 ahead of the UN vote on 02 December 2020, concerns the United Nations vote on removing cannabidiol (CBD) preparations with less than 0.2 percent THC from international control. By establishing evidence-based limits on controlled cannabinoid content in cannabinoid-containing products, the current barriers to growth of the sector in the UK can be dramatically reduced.
Changing policing attitudes to drug offences in the UK
Published 1 October 2019
The CDPRG’s briefing explores changing policing attitudes to drug offences in the UK and shows that 12.5% of England and Wales’ 40 Police Forces with Police and Crime Commissioners are using or developing programmes which divert drug users into treatment and education services rather than prosecuting them.
Opioids in the UK
Published 30 August 2019
This short briefing looks at opioid dependence, misuse and related deaths, comparing the UK with the US and the OECD average, and discusses the complex causes of the opioid crisis as well as suggested policy interventions.
