The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed that 2023 saw the highest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in England and Wales, continuing a grim upward trend. The surge is linked in part to nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids as potent as fentanyl — or stronger.
Researchers at King’s College London caution that the ONS figures may understate the true scale of opioid fatalities, due to outdated reporting methods. Unlike Scotland, which publishes quarterly updates, England and Wales lag nearly two years behind in reporting, obscuring the immediacy of the crisis. Early data from 2024 and 2025 suggests the death toll is still climbing.
A Preventable Tragedy
While not every drug-related death can be avoided, experts stress that most are preventable. Yet successive UK governments have clung to punitive, enforcement-led policies, ignoring decades of evidence in favour of harm reduction.
Proven interventions include:
- Drug checking services at festivals and venues, allowing users to verify substance contents.
- Medically supervised drug consumption rooms (DCRs), where trained staff can intervene in case of overdose.
Globally, more than 100 DCRs operate in 18 countries, saving tens of thousands of lives. In the UK, only The Thistle in Glasgow exists. Since opening in January 2024, it has been accessed over 4,700 times, managing 60 medical emergencies without a single fatality. Campaigners note it took years of political and legal battles to establish — during which hundreds died.
The Cost of Inaction
The human toll is compounded by economic waste. Dame Carol Black’s 2021 review estimated that £9.3 billion is spent annually in England on drug-related crime and enforcement. Around 10% of the prison population is incarcerated for drug offences, many non-violent, worsening overcrowding while doing little to curb supply or demand.
Despite these costs, illicit drugs are more available than ever. As Richard Branson and other members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy argue, “business as usual has failed.”
A Radical Shift
The Commission advocates:
- Decriminalisation of personal use and possession, freeing resources for serious crime.
- Scaled investment in harm reduction, treatment, housing, and prevention.
- Exploration of regulated markets, as seen with cannabis in several jurisdictions, to shrink the illicit trade and generate tax revenue for public health.
Where reforms have been implemented abroad, results have been popular and effective, reducing deaths and improving community safety.
A Defining Choice
The ONS figures are more than statistics — they represent thousands of lost lives, families devastated, and communities destabilised. With overwhelming evidence in favour of reform, campaigners insist the UK must act decisively.
“When the opportunity to save lives is presented on a mountain of unambiguous evidence, nothing else should matter,” Branson wrote.
The choice now is stark: continue with policies that have failed for decades, or embrace a radical shift that could save countless lives and reshape the future of public health in the UK.
