Much has been done over recent years to tackle drug problems that harm individuals and corrode family life and communities across the UK. Yet, while some progress has been made, significant problems remain and new challenges are emerging.

‘Legal highs’ are increasingly available, with the internet providing new opportunities for drug dealers. New health and policing structures are changing delivery systems in much of the UK, and the recession is both threatening to worsen the social exclusion that underlies many drug problems and simultaneously reduce the ability of local areas to deal with these problems.

This event, the final conference of the UK Drug Policy Commission, brings together drug policy specialists and those with expertise in other fields, to discuss how drug policy can best respond to these changing circumstances.