May rejects calls for drugs rethink

7 March 2013 Last updated at 10:35 ET

Home Secretary Theresa May has rejected calls from MPs for a root-and-branch review of drugs strategy, insisting the government's approach is working.

In a recent report, the Home Affairs Committee said a Royal Commission should examine policy and consult the public on alternative ideas.

But she said there was "no case" for such a move and hailed "promising" progress in various areas since 2010.

Early intervention and "recovery incentivisation" schemes were working.

The government has faced calls for a change in approach from campaigners and some police officers amid warnings that existing policies are not working. Speaking last year, former Home Secretary Ken Clarke said the war on drugs was "plainly being lost".

There is growing concern over the growth and prevalence of "legal highs", some of which are banned, amid a recorded rise in deaths linked to their use.

In a recent report, the cross-party Commons committee urged ministers to develop a new series of measures to tackle the harm caused by drug misuse and suggested an independent Royal Commission should take a fresh look at policy and the changing international context by 2015.

While stopping short of supporting a relaxation of legal sanctions for drug use, as previously suggested by experts at the UK Drug Policy Commission, it called on ministers to look in detail at the idea.

Consideration of policy should be "informed by a thorough understanding of the global situation and possible alternative policies", it said.

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May rejects calls for drugs rethink