DRUGS POLICY

That this House notes that according to a poll carried out by ComRes for the independent UK Drug Policy Commission, 77 per cent of hon. Members believe the UK's drug policies are not working; further notes that the poll found concern is shared across political parties and that hon. Members agree that drug policy needs to draw much more on evidence and research; further notes that public opinion is also in favour of a rethink and that when asked as part of a YouGov poll conducted in 2011, 53 per cent of people rated existing policy towards illegal drugs as `ineffective'; and therefore calls on the Government to commission an authoritative and independent cost-benefit analysis and impact assessment of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 within the next 12 months, in order to provide the evidence for Parliament to pursue a more effective drugs policy in the future.