Undoing the harms of punitive drug policies and building sustainable alternatives requires bringing to the fore the experiences of Black communities with the 'war on drugs' in Britain.
Rights-affirming policies must reject both criminalisation and saviourism, instead seeking to address the root causes of people's involvement in criminalised economies.
High-level debates on the decriminalisation of drug possession and changes in sentencing for trafficking offences have failed to materialise, despite the urgency of changes.