The reports published as part of your investigation into cocaine lay bare the widespread harms linked to the drug that people are experiencing ( Cocaine-linked crimes on the rise in Britain as consumption surges, 25 October ; ‘He was like 10 men after taking cocaine‘: how Britain’s drug habit is fuelling domestic abuse, 26 October ).

Similar concerns can be identified in relation to other drugs – including alcohol – and the situation could not be more urgent. Deaths related to drug use have been rising for over a decade to unprecedented levels , and the emergence of synthetic opioids in the UK has prompted the National Crime Agency to warn that “ there has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs ”.…