New projects aimed at reducing drug use have been given a cash boost in the first allocation of a £5m Government grant.
Schemes in Huddersfield, Derbyshire, Manchester, Dorset and the South East of England will include pop-up pods at festivals and events to educate people on the harm caused by drugs.
They will share the initial £734,000 of the total grant, with the remaining funding available across two further phases.
Phase 1 of the Government’s drug strategy innovation fund will involve a range of education-based programmes, skills development for young people and community outreach.
Other projects include training programmes for people working in nightclubs, experts from public health, voluntary services, the NHS and the police.
Health minister Neil O’Brien said: ’Stopping drug use in its tracks is essential to protecting people and the community from the harms caused by addiction, which has devastating impacts and drives half of all crime.
‘Projects like these will pave the way for new research into preventing drug addiction and enable us to meet our national strategy aim to cut drugs and crime.’
