Drug users may not dial 999 in emergencies or give full information to doctors and nurses who treat them because they fear potential criminal prosecution, a report has said.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the medical profession does not condone drug-taking but warned of users not seeking medical help when they need it, as they are criminalised in current drugs policy.
The report said drugs policy does not have an adequate focus on health, and it called for addicts to be treated like those who have any other illness.
Currently, users may be discouraged from approaching drug services, contacting paramedics in emergency situations or volunteering accurate or complete information to health professionals because they fear policies are mainly focused on criminal justice, the BMA said.
The report also pointed out “a widely held view within the drugs field that the current legal framework has failed to deliver its intended goals of reducing illicit drug use”.
And it said doctors should have a key role in “refocusing the debate” and influencing global drug policy.
The report concluded that drug dependency is a medical condition as well as a legal problem and that alternatives to the current approach to UK drug policy should have health at the centre of the debate.
