Dr. Sharon Lambert:

I echo what Mr. Mullins has said. When we talk about decriminalisation, if we say it is just for a specific drug or a specific amount, that will bring benefit to a cohort, and that is primarily the middle class, particularly young people who might get caught with something small at the weekend. The people we are talking about, who are very unwell, sometimes need to buy more to sell a little bit, which pays for their own and keeps them out of shoplifting and other types of crime.

When talking about decriminalisation, we sometimes hear people refer to "three strikes and you're out". That is never going to work for people who are very unwell. We need to think about mental health and trauma. If I have experienced trauma and one of the ways I am helping to soothe my emotions is to cut my arms, for example, which can be quite common as pain relief, that would be like saying to somebody that if they cut themselves more than three times, they are out. That is what we are talking about if we really think about addiction as a mental health issue.