Heroin on prescription and supervised injecting rooms are among a range of measures that the government’s drug advisers have suggested to reverse the UK’s soaring numbers of drug deaths.
Responding to a sharp rise in the number of heroin-related deaths in recent years, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said maintenance of drug treatment programmes was essential to prevent further increases.
Overdoses hit record levels in England and Wales last year, exceeding the number of deaths from road traffic accidents, according to official figures published in September, sparking criticism of the government’s approach to drugs and addiction services.
The ACMD’s recommendations come as the government plans deep cuts to local authority public health grants, the money which funds drug treatment services.
In a letter accompanying Monday’s report, the ACMD chairman, Les Iversen, told Amber Rudd, the home secretary: “The ACMD is of the view that death is the most serious harm related to drug use.
“In recent years, there have been substantial increases in the number of people dying in the UK where illicit drugs are reported to be involved in their death. The largest increase has been in deaths related to the misuse of opioid substances; 2,677 opioid-related deaths were registered in the UK in 2015.”
He added: “The most important recommendation in this report is that government ensures that investment in OST of optimal dosage and duration is, at least, maintained.”
However, drug treatment experts leapt on the report’s recommendations for the introduction of heroin-assisted treatment – where users are prescribed heroin to allow them to safely maintain their habit – and medically supervised injecting rooms.
Niamh Eastwood, executive director of Release, said that heroin prescription had been successfully trialled for addicts who had proved resistant to OST, and that the results of a similar policy in Switzerland had been positive. “It can be helpful in stabilising [addicts]; it keeps them away from the black market and allows them to maintain relationships with family,” she said.
Ian Hamilton, an expert in mental health and substance use at the University of York, said: “One of the most radical things is calling for drug consumption rooms. That’s quite progressive really because Public Health England have been really shy about drug consumption rooms and we know from evidence that those are the things that make the biggest difference to reducing deaths in people who inject drugs.”
However, the Home Office said that the government had no intention of following up on the ACMD’s recommendation. A spokesperson for the department said: “Drugs can cause untold harm and this government is acting to reduce their devastating impact.
“Drug misuse among adults and young people has fallen in the last 10 years and we are working to educate young people about the risks, to help those who are dependent through treatment, and to clamp down on the illicit trade.
“This government has no plans to introduce drug consumption rooms but recovery will remain at the heart of our approach. We are grateful to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for their advice and will respond in due course.”