Drugs: Prohibition and Criminalisation

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Lords Chamber

Question

15:39

Asked by

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb]

To ask His Majesty’s Government, in light of the rise in deaths linked to cocaine, ketamine and synthetic cannabinoid use, what plans they have to review their policy on drug prohibition and the criminalisation of people who use drugs.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

My Lords, drug misuse deaths in 2025 were down on those registered in the previous year. Every drug-related death, however, remains a tragedy. Drug deaths are best prevented by a combination of actions, including tackling drug supply, effective treatment and recovery support, clear societal messaging about the harms that drugs do, and a robust legislative framework to deter possession and supply.

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer, but I did not hear anything new in there. Until the Government do have better drug policies, knowing the number of deaths from illegal drugs is incredibly important. To do that, you need to triangulate with health data, and you need to establish whether serious violence or suicide has taken place, especially for women. What measures might the Government take to make sure that their recording of deaths is actually accurate?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises an important point, and I hope I can assure her that the Government take that seriously. We have asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to look at writing four reports for us, particularly focused on women and girls. That will include the role of drugs in domestic abuse and in wider violence against women and girls. We have also set up a working group to review matters concerning the very issue she raises, which is the recording of drug-related deaths and how they are defined across all parts of the United Kingdom.

[Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (PC)]

My Lords, drug poisoning accounts for 37% of deaths among prison leavers in Wales. Will the Government review whether current drug criminalisation policies are helping or hindering efforts to reduce post-release overdose deaths?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I will obviously reflect on what the noble Baroness has said, and we are always looking at what we need to do on drugs generally. This year, in fact, we have introduced a number of orders in this House which have put controls on certain drugs. Along with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, we will look at the impact of drugs in prison, but overall, as I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, drug deaths are down. That is a trend we want to continue to encourage, and one I will be working towards as Minister.

[Baroness Doocey (LD)]

My Lords, the director-general of the National Crime Agency has described how criminals are chemically bonding cocaine in everyday materials such as plastic and glue to evade detection. Given that the Government’s number one priority is to reduce the harm that drug does, does the Minister feel we have the right balance in the use of resources between pursuing people who have drugs for their own personal use and dismantling the ever-more sophisticated drug networks that are actually supplying the drugs?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

We have to take on the organised criminals who are supplying the drugs. In 2025-26, the National Crime Agency seized 189 tonnes of class A drugs. The quantity of illicit drugs seized at the border in 2024-25 was the largest, at 148 tonnes, recorded since 1973. So there are efforts to stop organised crime, but obviously, drug barons are looking at a whole range of methods, and the areas the noble Baroness has mentioned are extremely important. We need to keep on top of that, and that is why we have also put in some £3.4 billion over the next three years on drug and alcohol treatment as a whole, to ensure that we look at who the users of drugs are and how we can help support them.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, so far nobody has mentioned those who die as a result of drug use, particularly in road traffic accidents, but who themselves have never taken drugs in their lives. One of the great successes of the last 30 years has been the reduction in the number of people who die on the roads as a result of alcohol use. By the end of this decade, the number who die on the roads because of illicit drug use is likely to exceed the number who die because of alcohol use. There is variation from force to force in terms of the equipment used and the practices, so will the noble Lord consider getting police authorities together and getting best practice established, so that we can start to push down on drug use on the roads, as we have pushed down on drink?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises an extremely important point. He will know that some seven or eight years ago, we passed legislation in both Houses—I was then the shadow Minister in the House of Commons—on drug testing for driving, particularly for cocaine. He raises the issues of enforcement and good practice; I will take them back and reflect on them and, if I have any further information, I can reply to him. He needs to know that legislation on a cross-party basis has been passed, it will be enforced, and it is extremely important that we stop people who are under the influence of drugs driving vehicles.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Will my noble friend the Minister please update the House on something we worked together on many years ago: specialist drug courts and the role they may have in reducing reoffending, particularly for people whose offending is related to their drug misuse?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful for my noble friend’s question. The use of drug courts, and judges having ownership of individuals who go through those courts and of the treatment those individuals get, is extremely important. That is a matter for the Ministry of Justice, but it is certainly something we are encouraging. We have put in place, as we did during previous Labour Governments up to 2010, significant numbers of drug treatment orders, which focus on helping people get off drugs in the first place.

[Lord Paddick (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, when cannabis was reclassified from class C to class B, there was no noticeable reduction in cannabis use. But when excessive use of genetically modified cannabis was publicised as being linked to schizophrenia, the use of cannabis then reduced. Does that not say to the Government that they should be spending more on drugs education?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

It is extremely important that we send messages out throughout the whole of the age range that using drugs has potential difficulties and can cause death. It is important that we do that in schools and raise education for those involved in drug use. Going back to the noble Baroness’s question earlier, it is important that we do that when people are in prison as well, to help them leave prison in a way which improves their behaviour and gives them a better chance in life outside. Those are important issues and not ones the Government will shirk.

[Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)]

My Lords, given that street-level drug dealing is one of the greatest harms perpetrated on communities across this country, what extra work could the police be doing to stop this activity, which is often dealt with as low-level crime but has a real ripple effect on the community suffering from it?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I have to say that I agree with the noble Lord that it is not low-level crime. The front-end of drugs being dealt on the street has an upstream effect on criminal gangs who are importing drugs and doing things which cause death and harm and lack of social cohesion. One of the things we are doing is ensuring that we have better enforcement. We are putting some 10,000 extra police officers on the beat during the course of this Parliament to look at neighbourhood policing. Neighbourhood policing leads to local policing and intelligence, and I would hope it will lead to better community involvement in reducing drug use on the streets.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I support the Government’s whole system, but I urge the Minister to ensure that we use more resources to stem the amount of drugs now being sold online, particularly ketamine, which is being sold so cheaply. This needs to be looked at very seriously, and we need to cut back on the availability of drugs online.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

It is an important point and again, there is a whole range of mechanisms, via Ofcom, through which we can take down adverts and businesses that are involved in crime and antisocial behaviour online. My noble friend mentions ketamine, and I have to say to the House that the level of ketamine-related deaths is increasing significantly. There are always challenges, and my noble friend points to one on which we need to take sophisticated action online and offline to reduce usage and therefore help reduce the number of deaths.

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that, while some people seem preoccupied with talking about reparations for historic slavery, the drugs trade causes untold human misery and is one of the premier causes of slavery at all levels in the world today?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The drugs trade is an evil trade; that is why the Government are committed to investing to ensure that we can reduce it. The 148 tonnes of illicit drugs seized at the border is the largest quantity seized since 1973. The drug barons need to know that the criminal justice agencies, the National Crime Agency and all local police forces will be after them to ensure that we hold them to account for this evil trade. I welcome the noble Lord’s support in doing that.