When the prime minister asked me in July to look into the problem of drug misuse, to inform discussion of the next manifesto, I had already been working on the issue for over five years.
In this time, illegal drugs is a subject that has excited much comment, usually over the classification of cannabis and whether using it is merely a question of freedom of choice. However, drugs and their use affect everybody in society. The young person with a chronic addiction; the victims of his acquisitive crime; the parents who have to take time off work to attend court proceedings; the community terrified by the activities of their neighbours; the cost to the NHS and criminal justice system – the list goes on and on.
Five years ago I held an inquiry into heroin misuse in my constituency of Bassetlaw in North Nottinghamshire. Bassetlaw is a mining area which is still recovering from the effects of the privatisation and closure of the pits in the 1980s and 1990s which led to a protracted period of high unemployment, lack of educational aspiration, and substance misuse.
Over an intensive three days, the inquiry panel interviewed local treatment providers, representatives from the criminal justice system, community leaders, as well as addicts and their families. The addicts all described their struggle to come off heroin with little or no help from the drug treatment services, and the lack of prescription drugs to help with withdrawal symptoms.
In our final report we made a number of recommendations to the government, including an increase in GP-based treatments for drug misusers. Five years after we published our initial report, crime and drug abuse is down in Bassetlaw and the Government put treatment at the heart of its updated drugs strategy in 2002.
But there is still a long way to go. Problematic drug use, recreational drug use, drug classification, drug-related crime and how it’s punished are all emotive issues for my constituents. Although some have argued that the Bassetlaw experience is not necessarily a blueprint for the whole UK, the inquiry did demonstrate that the most effective solutions are those in which the people who have real experience of the issues have a proper say in the consultation process.
Gordon Brown has asked me to produce a report which examines all of these concerns in order that the views and experiences of ordinary people are taken into account when formulating policy for the next manifesto. I believe that it is important that any proposals are made after a full appraisal of the wide spectrum of views and concerns. I want to hear from the people who have been affected by drug use whether it’s within their family or their community. I want to know what is being done well, what can be improved, and what changes people think we can be made to ensure that our drugs policies are relevant to 21st century Britain.
I have written to CLP Secretaries, my PLP colleagues and affiliates asking them to consult Labour Party members on the issue. If you would like to take part in my consultation, you can visit the website I have set up: http://labourdrugsconsultation.org.uk/ and tell me what you think about some of the issues I’ve raised in this article.