Public health ethics and punitive drug policy: Are new proposed sanctions for drug possession in the UK ethically justifiable?

We believe that a public health approach to drugs should first and foremost aim to maximise population health and wellbeing, which is fundamentally linked to socioeconomic circumstances that are negatively impacted by punitive policies. The White Paper overemphasises the prevention of drug use as an end in and of itself, which will likely exacerbate levels of harm.