GOOD NEWS from the U.K.

Joanna Journet, Administrator of The Orchard Recovery Centre on Bowen Island, passed on this encouraging news yesterday. Three years ago, Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament, issued a similar and even stronger statement about a change  in direction towards recovery.

From Methadone to Recovery

The British government plans to change drug treatment in a drastic reorientation away from harm reduction. Drug addicts will now receive help in overcoming addiction rather than primarily seeking to reduce the harm caused by drug use which was the main emphasis of the previous government’s policy.
In the future, substitution treatment will play a "limited role" while fighting addiction will become the overriding treatment objective.

James Brokenshire, the Drugs Minister tells Daily Telegraph that "there should only be a limited role for methadone in treatment. “[Methadone] should be seen as part of a pathway taking people to a position where they are clear of addiction."

The policy change would reflect better what drug addicts actually want. Research has shown that a large majority of drug users want abstinence as a goal of their treatment (read more)
Recovery, the overriding treatment objective

Brokenshire, the UK Drugs Minister, stated that "we are looking to have greater emphasis on recovery rather than simply on treatment itself. The aim is to get people clear of addiction.”

Treatment services that are unable to get people off the addiction could risk losing government funding. This appears to be a reversal of the previous trend where recovery oriented services lost government funding while funds were directed towards harm reduction and substitution services instead.