A recent report from the UK Drug Policy Commission, whose mission is to provide independent and objective analysis of UK drug policy, critiqued the effectiveness of programs within the criminal justice system for people with drug problems.

Over the past several years, government drug strategies have focused on increasing treatment and support services -- but the report finds that that's just a starting point.

The report is full of recommendations that would make a drug policy reformer nod his or her head, but there was one section that really made me think, "Wow, they actually get it!" In this section, the report recommends against prison for most offenders who have drug problems.

The executive summary reads, "Imprisonment can have unintended negative consequences for problem drug-using offenders... An environment which is struggling to cope with record numbers of prisoners is unlikely to be conducive to recovery." The report points to imprisonment as having the negative effects of worsening problems with housing and employment, and increasing health risks for blood-borne diseases.

The report recommends community sentences as the more effective alternative.

Other sensible recommendations:

The report recommends increased attention to quality of services, including a broader range of services, better assessment systems to match people to appropriate treatments, and better services (such as housing, education and employment services) to help people reintegrate into society when they leave prison.

The Commission also cautions against trying to broaden the reach of criminal justice-based intervention to people who are not problematic drug users. It says that recreational drug users who get caught up in the criminal justice system can end up becoming more criminalized if, for example, they fail to complete drug treatment. The report also notes that such a widening of the net would increase the cost per person for these interventions.