Despite warnings from government’s own advisers to protect people from ‘severe harm’, new controls on potent drugs were delayed for months
Ministers were warned nearly two years ago about the “significant public health threat” posed by synthetic opioids but delayed taking recommended steps to tackle rising deaths, the Observer can reveal.
In a report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, sent to the Home Office in July 2022, the government’s own advisers laid out concerns about the spread of the potent drugs in Britain and called for urgent action to protect people from “severe harm”.
