Families who have lost loved ones do not want more political theatre. We want fewer funerals.

Over the past few weeks, the Labour Party and the Prime Minister have repeatedly attacked the Green Party over its call to legally control and regulate the drug market. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer described the Greens’ approach as “absolutely disgusting” and suggested Zack Polanski was “high on drugs.”

For many in Westminster, this may feel like routine political sparring. For us, it is not.

We are members of Anyone’s Child: Families for Safer Drug Control. We have lost loved ones to drug-related deaths. When drug use is reduced to a punchline or political insult, it trivialises the reality we live with every day. It turns a national tragedy into a political weapon and reinforces a culture where drug use is mocked rather than treated as a serious public health issue.

The UK is in the midst of a devastating drug crisis. Year after year, we see record levels of drug-related deaths, the highest in Europe. In the ten years since our campaign began, more than 40,000 lives have been lost. This is no laughing matter. Each person was someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, or parent, someone who was loved, who mattered, and who should still be here. It could be anyone’s child.

The illegal drug market is becoming ever more dangerous, with synthetic opioids such as nitazines and xylazine now appearing in substances where people do not expect them. Hospital admissions continue to rise and children are being exploited through county lines networks. Meanwhile, our prisons are overcrowded and under strain. By every measure, the system is at breaking point. Yet the Government continues to resist reviewing current policies, sticking to an ideological recovery agenda and dismissing calls for reform instead of confronting the scale of the crisis.

When political leaders mock drug use or attack opponents over it, the message travels far beyond Westminster. It deepens the stigma that surrounds drug dependency, stigma that prevents people from seeking help when they need it most. Carol Black’s independent review for the government made this clear: stigma is one of the greatest barriers to support. People who use drugs are too often treated as criminals rather than as people in need of care.

Yet the political response remains largely unchanged. For over 55 years, the UK has pursued punitive drug policies. If they were working, deaths would be falling. They are not. Communities can see this. Voters know that evidence-based solutions are needed, not cheap political attacks. Families who have lost loved ones do not want more political theatre. We want fewer funerals.

Behind every statistic is a life that mattered. Politicians must grow up, stop dismissing the seriousness of this crisis, and stop weaponising tragedy for cheap political gain. The public already understands that change is needed. If leaders are truly serious about reducing drug-related deaths, they must show the courage to call for root and branch reform and implement evidence-based reforms that save lives.