ABSTRACT
Great Britain has a new set of ‘drugs strategies’, one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The idea that a ‘strategy’ can answer policy and political needs in relation to drug issues is, of course, hardly new, although in the history of British policy it has some novelty — the evolution of the ‘British System’, in truth, very systematic. As a solid middle tier in the Broome Strategy pyramid, the Regional Crime Squads created ‘Drugs Wings’ as attached but relatively autonomous units, to specialise in drugs cases and, in particular, undertake investigations that crossed local police force boundaries. The Government’s ‘New’ drug strategies do not seem to offer coherence, or the likelihood of delivering a better deal for drug users, or fewer drug problems for society. The issuing of the recent strategy documents is, in part, designed to silence critics about the lack of such strategy.
