In a period where the phrase 'listen to the science' has taken on a greater resonance than at any point in history, perhaps it's appropriate to look again at what scientific research is heading. For example, some cutting-edge contemporary research is being conducted on the use of psychedelics in medicine. Particularly encouraging is work being undertaken on their use in treating long-standing mental health conditions and post-traumatic stress disorder. Others focus their research on more well-known substances, such as medicinal cannabis.

Cannabis had become illegal 100 years ago, although it remained in use as a prescription drug in Britain until 1973. Evidence suggests that those suffering from the hardest-to-treat forms of epilepsy can see the number and intensity of seizures they suffer decrease substantially if treated with products derived from the core cannabinoid CBD. UK law changed in 2018 to allow medicinal cannabis use under particular, limited circumstances. This represented a welcome step forward, but, since the change, only a small number of prescriptions have been granted, and many families remain in limbo. The choice they've been left with is heartbreaking: either spend thousands to obtain illicit prescriptions or go without, leaving loved ones at risk of suffering the worst effects of their condition. This is not a situation any one of us would wish upon ourselves or our own families and friends.

The pandemic has taught us that scientists are among the very best of us. Without their ability to solve problems in an innovative, rapid way, we would be without our fantastic vaccination effort, and much else besides. We would do well to take this attitude and apply it to other fields. Because in this field—drugs policy—the UK is frustratingly, increasingly out of step with countries that we relate to. There is real-world evidence that other policies work, yet we continue to bury our heads in the sand.

In Europe, Portugal has set a positive example for what can be done when drug policies prioritise health over the criminalisation. At the turn of the century, Portugal was facing a crisis, including high levels of HIV infection among drug users. In 2001, Portugal decriminalised personal possession of all drugs as part of a wider reorientation of policy to a health-led approach. Possessing drugs for personal use is treated as an administrative offence, meaning it's no longer punishable by imprisonment and doesn't result in a criminal record and associated stigma. Many impacts of the reforms were felt immediately. New HIV infections, drug deaths and the prison population all fell sharply within the first decade. The second decade, admittedly, saw slower improvements. However, Portugal is in a much better position than it was in 2001, and recorded drug use and drug deaths as a proportion of the general population are both well below the European average, and the proportion of their prison population sentenced for drug offences has fallen from 40 per cent to 15 per cent.

Portugal's experience is a lesson that can be achieved when policy innovation and political will are aligned in response to a crisis. In comparison, the UK's 2019 annual report on drugs showed the highest prevalence of drug use in the last 10 years across England, Wales and Scotland. The current approach is not working—that is clear. Our zero-tolerance policy, the never-ending mindset of being permanently at war with drugs, criminalises and ostracises some of our most vulnerable, and it drives all trade underground, fuelling a deadly cycle of anti-social behaviour, violence, theft, and all other kinds of crime, most often in our poorest and most deprived communities.

Children are targeted by criminal gangs to act as dealers, vulnerable adults are cuckooed in their own homes, and whole areas can be blighted by drug paraphernalia as users look to take drugs out of sight in alleys and doorways. People living in neighbourhoods where drug dealing takes place will recognise the fear that comes with criminalised drug markets. Quite simply, they deserve better.