The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Drug Law Reform returned to parliament this week, with Transform honoured to assume the role of APPG secretariat, working with the Group’s officers, Jeff Smith MP, Lord Norton of Louth, Charlotte Nichols MP, and Baroness Debbonaire.

A further 22 cross-party parliamentarians are members.

Originally established in 2011, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Drug Policy Reform has been inactive for a number of years. It returns to Parliament this year at a pivotal moment in the UK and global debate on drug policy reform.

Recognition of the profound failures of the 'war on drugs' is growing, alongside support for meaningful change. The APPG will seek to build on this momentum by developing and coordinating a programme of parliamentary events, publications and wider activities to stimulate and inform the urgently needed debate on drug policy and legislative reform.

The first meeting of the revived APPG featured presentations from:

• Transform CEO Jane Slater - Outlining the manifest failings of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and calling for a comprehensive review and fundamental overhaul of the UK’s outdated drug policy and legislative framework
• Neil Woods, recounting his experience as an undercover cop infiltrating organised crime networks, and how the futility and counterproductive nature of this work led him to advocate for drug policy reform
• Karl Burnett, a trustee of Transform who lost his brother to a heroin overdose last year, exploring the devastating realities of addiction, loss and the consequences of our failed drugs policies.
   

This was followed by a discussion among parliamentarians and other attendees on developing strategies to raise the profile of drug policy and legislative reform both within Westminster and beyond, encouraging greater parliamentary engagement and public debate

Please encourage your MP to join us! The APPG web page is here.