More people have died as a result of prescribed drugs than illegal ones over the past five years.

Figures have been released following a Keys question from Daphne Caine (Garff) who is supporting calls for a debate on decriminalising of illegal drugs.

Between 2015 and 2019, 21 deaths were recorded as involving prescription drugs compared with nine involving illegal drugs, while seven involved a combination of the two.

Mrs Caine told the Manx Independent she asked Mr Ashford for the figures following discussions with Ray Lakeman. Mr Lakeman’s sons Jacques and Torin died together of MDMA overdoses in 2014. Since then he has worked to change attitudes to illegal drugs.

’Behind the stark figures is an increase in convictions for drug possession, plus we have seen an increase in the violence associated with organised crime,’ Mrs Caine said.

’I feel we as an island need to debate an alternative approach that Mr Lakeman has been campaigning for, and we should engage the public in establishing whether decriminalisation of cannabis or legalising/regulation is potentially a better way ahead for the island.

’What is apparent is that we can’t continue to do the same as we have always done. We seem to be losing the war on drugs.

’We are told there is now a £1m per month drug business on the Isle of Man, and £1m worth of illegal drugs seized annually. If prohibition is consistently proven not to work, we should be considering the alternatives.’

Mrs Caine said that both Chief Minister Howard Quayle and Dr Henrietta Ewart, public of health director, are on record stating the island’s drug deaths were higher than in the UK.

In her 2017 health report, Dr Ewart highlighted the figures that between 2013 and 2015 there were 20 deaths from illegal drug use which is ’significantly higher than the England average’.

She added: ’Over half of these involved opioids and almost one third mentioned alcohol.’

Health Minister David Ashford said his department ’made the assumption that where prescription drugs are involved, they were prescribed to that person’. He added: ’Using someone else’s prescription would be classed as illegal, but the death certificates do not detail whether this was the case.’