Not just the UK. Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands too. The Netherlands had a very bad heroin epidemic in the 90's which has virtually

Not just the UK. Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands too. The Netherlands had a very bad heroin epidemic in the 90's which has virtually disappeared thanks to this approach. The two main takeaways in my opinion are: Treat heroin addiction as a health issue instead of a criminal issue and don't just give out heroin, always couple it with social services, treatment, etc. Note that this approach mostly solves the visible issues. Encampments with heroin users are gone, along with all the trash, safety issues and health issues. The addicts are still addicts but the enormous cost to the community and the health of the users is enormously lessened. Also, because there's nearly no business for drug dealers anymore, there are virtually no new users. Nearly all heroin users in The Netherlands are over 40 years of age. There are clearly huge benefits to this approach. However, according to some addicts there is also a downside. Now that there's a great way to solve all the visible issues, there is less of a focus on getting the addicts clean they say. See: 1. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/07/in_amsterdam_the_government_pr.html https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/07/in_amsterd... 2. https://www.tdpf.org.uk/blog/heroin-assisted-treatment-switzerland-successfully-regulating-supply-and-use-high-risk-0 https://www.tdpf.org.uk/blog/heroin-assisted-treatment-switz... 3. https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/xwp74q/only-in-the-netherlands-do-addicts-complain-about-free-government-heroin https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/xwp74q/only-in-the-nethe... 4. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/treating-heroin-addiction-with-heroin-what-you-need-to-know-196882/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/treating-h...