A new government-commissioned study has found that law enforcement strategies aimed at controlling the drug trade may be doing more harm than good—intensifying violence instead of curbing it. Published by the UK Home Office and produced by RAND Europe, the report, challenges the long-standing assumption that stronger drug policing enhances public safety. In fact, it concludes that drug-related enforcement actions are frequently linked to rising violence, particularly when authorities target high-level traffickers or conduct large-scale drug seizures.
This is not the first time that such conclusions have been drawn, but what is significant this time, is that the UK government itself has now acknowledged them. The research reinforces earlier findings that disrupting drug markets often creates dangerous power vacuums, sparking turf wars among criminal groups and escalating violent confrontations.
When enforcement backfires
Experts and former law enforcement officers have been sounding the alarm on this for years. Steve Rolles, a policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said this data validates what many already know: aggressive drug policing tends to strengthen the most dangerous criminal organizations, not dismantle them.
Similarly, reported Filter, Neil Woods, a former undercover officer turned drug policy reform advocate, has long argued that law enforcement efforts fail to shrink drug markets and often leave people who use drugs more vulnerable. In particular, disrupting supply chains can lead individuals to seek out new, unverified sources—raising the risk of overdose.
Drug wars fuel violence
One example cited was the 2021 shutdown of Sky ECC, an encrypted messaging platform popular among European drug traffickers. The takedown, while praised as a win for law enforcement, was followed by a surge in violence, including the high-profile murder of journalist Peter de Vries in the Netherlands and increased gang-related shootings in Brussels.
The report concluded that no significant enforcement action studied had a lasting effect on drug supply or organized crime. Instead, these interventions often backfire, removing figures who previously kept rival factions in check and creating chaotic power struggles.
Globally, critics argue that drug prohibition policies, including vape bans, have fostered criminal empires, turned urban neighborhoods into battlegrounds, and violated basic human rights. Academic Petter Grahl Johnstad has gone as far as to claim that international drug laws may infringe on the right to life and security, citing how prohibition inflates the profitability of the drug trade and draws in violent organizations.
The UK is headed to an unwanted direction
Similarly, data have consistently shown that bans set on any product just lead to a thriving black market of a non-regulated version of that same product. In fact, discussing a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, which lays out a strategic vision for making smoking obsolete, Vape Club‘s Dan Marchant discussed how the UK’s proposed disposable vapes’ ban has already sent the products underground.
“Disposable vapes are one of the single most effective methods for smokers to switch to vaping. Recent ASH statistics for adult vaping in the UK show us there are 4.7 million adult vapers, of which 31% report using disposable vapes – that works out to almost 1.5 million adults.
The UK already has a thriving black market for illegal disposable vapes – the over-capacity, sometimes over-strength products, which have not been through the regulatory processes in the UK to ensure they are fit for purpose. It is estimated that the illegal market is actually as big as the legal market, and with so many adults relying on disposable vapes to stay away from cigarettes, any kind of ban is just going to result in a boom for the illegal traders.”
As pressure builds from within its own commissioned research, it remains to be seen whether the UK government will respond with meaningful reform—or continue down a path that experts say is failing both public safety and human rights. As evidence mounts against punitive drug policies, the UK faces a pivotal choice: continue a strategy proven to fuel violence and black markets, or embrace reforms rooted in harm reduction and public health. The path forward demands courage, clarity—and a commitment to policies that truly prioritize safety over symbolism.
