Drugs foundation: Government’s drug policy is irresponsible

Tuesday, 23, May 2006 12:00

The Transform Drugs Policy Foundation (TDPF) has called the government's drug policy "irresponsible", after the Home Office today rejected a report recommending setting up drug consumption rooms (DCRs), to provide a space for users to inject in hygienic and supervised conditions

Spokesman Steve Rolles told politics.co.uk the report was backed up by a “mountain of evidence” and reflected the findings of five other major committees, including a home affairs select committee, that DCRs would benefit the community and users.

Ministers argue the rooms would increase local crime, but he insisted they were designed to do the opposite, by taking dealers and syringes off the streets.

Mr Rolles blamed the government's resistance on their "political fear" of being seen to be soft on drugs, saying: "People are dying as a result of the government's intransigence on this issue."

He added: "This is not an ideological stance; we are supporting it because it works.”