Drugs
Tackling drugs misuse
Drug misuse can lead to many problems in our communities – from an increase in crime, to under-achievement in education by young people.
We are working hard to prevent these problems by implementing a range of policies and interventions known as the Drug Strategy (new window). This focuses on the most dangerous drugs and problematic drug users as they cause the most harm to themselves, their families and communities.
The strategy has four main areas of work:
- preventing drugs misuse
- reducing the availability of drugs
- reducing drug use and drug-related offending through treatment and support
- reducing drug-related crime
Facts and figures
- £1.5 billion – annual Government spending on tackling drugs
- 10,106 people employed as drug professionals – up 50% since March 2002
- 96% of secondary and 80% of primary schools have developed drug education policies
- 2.4 weeks – average treatment waiting time, which is down by three quarters since 2002
(Source: Drug Stategy Directorate Facts and Statistics (new window))
Explore this section:
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What we're doing tackle drug misuse, and what you can do to help too
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By cutting off the supply of drugs to our streets we can stop the problem before it starts
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Helping people get over drug misuse is a vital part of our drug strategy
