Despite previous attempts to reduce the demand for illegal drugs, the JCDU and departments still do not understand how to change behaviours and prevent people from taking drugs. Reducing the demand for illegal drugs is crucial to mitigating the harms caused by their supply. Effective prevention can also represent better value for money than an enforcement-led approach, as it avoids future economic and social costs. However, drug use has shown no reduction in the last 10 years, with some 3 million people taking drugs each year. The government has attempted to reduce the demand for drugs in previous strategies but, despite this, the JCDU and Home Office still do not have an evidence base from which to develop effective interventions. It is striking that just £300,000—0.03% of strategy funding—has been committed to research drivers of increasing drug use among children and younger people. Preventing vulnerable people from taking drugs requires a holistic, cross- cutting response and long-term interventions must consider wider socio-economic factors. Vulnerability to illegal drug is often linked to trauma and wider social issues such as deprivation and, as we have reported previously, there is a well-established relationship between substance misuse and mental health. Recommendation 6: As a matter of urgency, the JCDU should co-ordinate work to develop an evidence-based plan for achieving the strategy’s aim of reducing demand for illegal drugs to a 30-year low. It should draw research together to provide a compelling evidence base, understand the impact of local initiatives and work with other departments to build on related government strategies (e.g. deprivation, vulnerable families, mental health, homelessness etc). 8 Reducing the harm from illegal drugs 1 Implementing the government drug strategy Introduction