Why Britain's drug czar mustn't wage war on drugs

Aim for pragmatism, not dogma

The British government has advertised the first ever post of drug supremo, or 'drug czar' to borrow the term used in the United States. It is good news that the new Labour government is evidently serious about the growing national and international drug problem and intends to strengthen further the pan-departmental approach taken by the central drugs co-ordinating unit and its strategic document for England, Tackling Drugs Together.1

But there is a grave danger that the increased political attention could backfire, producing a more politicised approach to the problem and causing the new czar's dominant orientation to be one of control. Crime dominated posturing would lead to a damaging dissociation between the public appeal of the policy and actual evidence of effectiveness. It could lead to a mistaken bias to funding more panda cars, prisons, and pop propaganda instead of evidence-based treatment, rehabilitation, and preventive strategies. In contrast, diverting limited resources from enforcement to treatment and rehabilitation would result in more cost-effective crime …