Mentor UK Response to the English Drug Strategy Consultation, October 2007

In Mentor UK‟s view, there is a fundamental problem with the existing drug strategy that needs to be addressed. We believe that while the drug and alcohol strategies remain separate within government structures and systems, this will result in a lack of consistency of responses to the needs of individuals, families and communities, including in-balances of service provision, often affecting those most in need in our communities. There is overwhelming physical, psychological and social evidence that link drug and alcohol misuse behaviours. Alcohol and tobacco are often misused as precursors to and concurrently with illegal drugs. Mentor UK believes that for the purposes of strategic planning and service delivery it is foolish to split the substances, as consecutive UK governments have done. Government also needs to link up its strategy for dealing with illegal drugs by looking at research around addictive behaviours generally, including gambling addictions, as the same young people often engage in a range of
problematic behaviours and the solutions need to be holistic.

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