BRITISH drug laws are a dismal failure which are costing taxpayers £7 billion a year and uselessly criminalising millions of people, a damning new report found today.

The Misuse of Drugs Act has resulted in a total of 680,000 years of prison sentences since it was introduced in 1971, during which time heroin use has risen 25-fold, drug-related deaths are at record levels and criminal gangs thrive on drugs’ illegality, the Transform Drug Policy Foundation report states.

It has also resulted in three million criminal convictions and has provided police with “the sharpest tool in the box” for discrimination against black people.

The foundation said that the Act represents “50 years of costly failure” and is calling for a review.

Sixty-five cross-party MPs have also called for the Act to be replaced with legislation “to ensure that future drug policy protects human rights, promotes public health and ensures social justice.” 

Foundation chief executive Alex Feis-Bryce said: “The Misuse of Drugs Act has been an epic policy disaster and has failed spectacularly in its aims.

“We must consign to history this catastrophic legislation which undermines social justice, human rights and public health.”

Howard League for Penal Reform director of campaigns Andrew Neilson said: “Sending someone to prison is not going to help to address their use of drugs. It is more likely to make matters worse.

“The answers lie in the community, not in an overcrowded prison system where violence and self-harm are rife and it is easier to get drugs than exercise and education.”