Submitted by Andre on
The Consultation was launched on 18 July 2022 as part of the current Government’s Drug Strategy and its aim to reduce demand for drugs, especially amongst ‘so-called recreational users’, with a particular focus in media statements on ‘middle class drug users’. It closes on the 10th October at 11:59pm.
The reality is that if these proposals are introduced it will potentially result in an increase in policing and criminalisation, not amongst those at the higher end of the socio-economic ladder, but rather those who have always been overpoliced - economically and socially marginalised people, and Black and minority communities in particular.
Release alongside Transform are opposed to the proposals in the White Paper and we encourage members of the public to make their voices heard in Westminster by responding to the online questionnaire. You should complete the questionnaire as you see fit; but we thought it would be useful to guide you through the consultation response, and to provide an outline of why these proposals will not work and why they will create more harm for people at risk of over-policing and people who use drugs.
We would also encourage you to share your own stories of how drug prohibition has negatively impacted on you, so that the Home Office can understand the scale of damage and trauma caused by the current system.
The attached PDF will walk you through the questions of the consultation, as well as suggested response and evidence to respond to each section. We encourage you to personalise your responses, and use our responses as guidance rather than something to copy and paste.
Press here to follow the link to the consultation.