Professor Virginia Berridge, founding Director of the Centre, has been appointed a Deputy Chair of the London Drugs Commission (LDC).

The Commission was set up in May 2022 by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to look at the effectiveness of the UK’s drugs laws, focussing on cannabis. It is advised by an independent panel of experts and has commissioned evidence reviews from academics at UCL, led by Professor Ben Bradford, Professor of Global City Policing and Professor Toby Seddon, Professor of Social Science.

The LDC is chaired by Lord Charlie Faulkner, former Minister of Justice in the Blair government. The other Deputy Chair is Janet Hills MBE, a retired detective sergeant from the Metropolitan Police and President of the National Black Police Association.

The Commission will report in late 2023 with recommendations for the Mayor.