AUDIO: Schools 'must prioritise drugs education'

It should no longer be a criminal offence to use small amounts of drugs, the UK Drug Policy Commission has concluded after a six-year study of Britain's drugs laws.

It was funded by an independent charity and is composed of some well-respected figures from medicine and the police. Their report says existing drugs policies struggle to make an impact and in some cases may make the problem worse.

The commission's chief executive Roger Howard told the Today programme: "We need to base future drug policy on what works, on evidence, and we're calling for a new body to be set up to be able to promote that."

Independent drugs expert Sarah Graham disagrees with some of the report's findings and said: "I'm specifically interested in drugs education in schools. When I work with young people they tell me they don't get enough drugs education.

"I think we need to be prioritising drugs education because young people are being educated on the streets, by papers, by pop stars, and we need to make sure the information they're getting is scientifically backed up."

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AUDIO: Schools 'must prioritise drugs education'