Charlotte urged ministers to provide more services to reduce the harm caused by drugs, and to bring down the number of people killed each year from narcotics.
Deaths from drug poisonings have risen to an all-time high, with 5,565 people dying in England and Wales last year from the issue, half of which were from opiates.
She called for funding and facilities for drug services to be improved, amid her belief the drugs policy is too focused on ‘performative tough-on-crime posturing’ and rooted in 1970s laws.
Charlotte told the House of Commons: “I have spoken about the fact that I believe that the Home Office’s ministerial purview over drugs means that drugs policy is in the wrong place.”
She added: “In the six years that I have been doing this job, despite the rising death toll every year, measures on harm reduction seem to be something that the Home Office seems to show not just a lack of curiosity on, but often hostility towards.
“My overarching question, today, is will the Government finally take an evidence-based stance on drugs policy to reduce the immense harm the status quo causes in our constituencies?”
Charlotte said she had written to Home Office minister Sarah Jones, who had dismissed her calls for overdose prevention centres because of concerns about organised crime supplying drugs.
Ms Jones also dismissed safe inhalation equipment, which reduces the harm from drugs in comparison to them being injected, over concerns it would break drug legislation.
This is ideological, not evidence based. This is why I believe the Home Office is fundamentally incapable of dealing with the issues with drug deaths and drug harm in our communities.”
said: “Overdose prevention centres are a frontline evidence-based intervention that saves lives and public money, reducing ambulance call outs and A&E attendances, cutting public injecting and needlestick injuries and creating a bridge into treatment.
“I recognise the minister’s concern about supply and share them, but with or without such centres, people will use the same drugs; either in alleyways and stairwells or in safe, hygienic settings where sharps have disposed of, staff can intervene and build relationships that can be the foundation for recovery from addiction.”
She added: “It was clear from the minister’s evidence that the Home Office will not make legislative changes, even if the evaluation finds that the facility has been effective in meeting its aims.
“We cannot govern as the careful custodians of a failed conservative settlement. We must replace it.”
“This is ideological, not evidence based. This is why I believe the Home Office is fundamentally incapable of dealing with the issues with drug deaths and drug harm in our communities.”
She added: “We cannot govern as the careful custodians of a failed conservative settlement. We must replace it.”
Responding, health minister Ashley Dalton said the continued rise in drug-related deaths is ‘deeply concerning’, and that her department was continuing to work with the Home Office to bring forward improvements.
She said: “The Government is committed to ensuring anyone with a drug problem can access the help and support they need, providing evidence-based, high-quality treatment.
“Treatment is protective and is the safest place to be for anyone with a drug problem.”
Ms Dalton said the Government has provided local authorities with an additional £310million to improve treatment and recovery services.
“The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to champion a harm reduction and public health approach to drug-related harms,” she added.
“Many of these deaths are avoidable, and I am confident that the steps we are taking will put us in a stronger position to tackle this complex issue.”
