Silent victims—the damaging impact of the UK drug trade on the environment

Table of contents

• In what ways does the UK illegal drug industry damage the environment? What is the impact?
• What efforts have been made by UK law-makers to protect the environment against damage from illegal drug trafficking activity? How effective is it?
• Production within the UK
• What can be done to reduce the environmental damage caused by drug trafficking? How do you propose we achieve this?

Article summary

Environment analysis: Drug trafficking, and tackling it, includes practices which are costly to the UK’s natural habitat—from drug-fuelled deforestation to drug-plant eradication—yet it remains an underexplored issue. A recent study has highlighted the environmental damage caused by the narcotics trade, showing traces of cocaine and other illegal drugs in marine life in UK rivers. Rudi Fortson QC, barrister at 25 Bedford Row and visiting Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London, outlines the legislation (or lack of) responsible for protecting the environment against illegal activity and how things could be improved.