What needs to be done to prevent harm from drugs? A Whole-System Response to Drug Prevention in the UK (ACMD, 2025)
When it comes to addressing drug-related harms, and reducing the risks from drugs to young people, prevention has long been overshadowed by the urgency of rising numbers of drug-related deaths, and the damage to society from criminal activity relating to drug supply. The response has remained heavily focused on treatment and recovery, and on improving and strengthening enforcement measures to tackle supply, both of which are of course vital. However, a wider perspective on what could be done to prevent or reduce the demand for drugs arising in the first place is not something that has been given the priority (or funding) it needs and deserves, which is why the publication of the government’s Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs’ (ACMD) most recent report on prevention is so very welcome.
A Whole-System Response to Drug Prevention in the UK is a must-read for anyone involved in, or concerned about, preventing harm to young people from drugs. As always with ACMD reports it is detailed, thoroughly researched and includes comprehensive evidence and most recent data. It is also very clear about why drug prevention should be prioritised by government: it is cost-effective compared to the considerable financial costs of illegal drug use to the UK – and of course there are costs to individuals, families and communities that are incalculable; it will help the government achieve wider priorities and goals for society, including improving mental health, reducing health inequalities, and taking action on public health; and perhaps most importantly for us as a drug education charity, it is an important way of reducing drug demand and drug-related harms, with universal drug education very much part of the whole systems approach that is needed.
The report calls for local and national leadership roles in prevention, a national prevention quality standard, a quality mark for providers to show they meet standards of evidence-based prevention, and a UK-wide competence framework for evidence-based prevention activities. It calls for funding that’s ring-fenced and long-term, investment in the development and delivery of evidence-based approaches, and increased funding to support a dedicated long-term approach to evaluation, innovation and research to develop the UK drug prevention evidence base.
If these recommendations are accepted and acted on by government – and by successive governments – the results could be transformative in the lives of young people over coming generations, but it needs long-term commitment, cross-departmental and multi-agency working that works, and a shared vision to the bigger picture the report paints so clearly. Hopefully, this report will play a significant role in a shift in perspective that values prevention that has already begun, and be instrumental in bringing the fundamental change that we need.
