ABSTRACT
It has not been the way of things in the UK to construct formal drugs policy. Policy changes are often seen to have occurred only with the benefit of hindsight. Paradoxically, the most distinctive characteristic of the British System over the years may be the lack of any defining characteristic. Amongst the (probably unintended) benefits of this approach may be the avoidance of the pursuit of extreme solutions and hence an ability to tolerate imperfection, alongside a greater freedom, and hence a particular capacity for evolution. There is certainly no explicit set of rules or central policy underpinning an organized system to which observed benefits can be attributed. So one might conclude that there is no point in any further examination of the British System. However, despite the lack of formal structure over the years, characteristics of a distinctive British approach can certainly be discerned, and there are particular components within the British responses which deserve special study. There may be no clear system; it may not be particularly British; but there may well be benefits to be accrued from an examination of policy in Britain-even if the policy has often been policy by default.
