It’s time the UK asked some hard questions about opiate abuse and drug deaths

Something is happening in rich western societies that goes rather deeper than the familiar debates about decriminalisation or legalisation of recreational drugs

The Independent has long argued for drug misuse to be treated as a medical problem rather than a law-enforcement one, with the emphasis on treatment rather than punishment. Today’s official figures showing drug deaths in England and Wales have hit a record high once again reinforce that argument.

We agree with Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, who said the criminal justice system’s approach to drug harm had failed, and called for the issue to be treated “first and foremost as a health issue”.

But it must be acknowledged that official policy has moved a long way in this direction in recent decades, and that a further shift would not be the whole answer to the problem.