Britain has failed in its “war on drugs” campaign despite spending large amounts of money to stop drugs imports into the country, senior UK officials say.

The war on drugs has appeared doomed to failure in the UK because the problem of drug addiction is on the rise across the nation, leading public figures including the former heads of MI5, Crown Prosecution Service and the state-funded BBC have warned.

UK authorities still suggest that the drug addiction should be treated as a health problem and not as a punishable crime.

They maintain that most harmful drugs such as heroin are growingly being used, resulting in a large number of health problems.

But, the authorities say the convicts should be kept in rehabilitation centers instead of putting them in jail.

Use of drugs has increased across the UK despite the government's huge spending to control the availability of drugs, lawmakers have warned.

According to new figures, almost 250 million people use narcotics such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin across the world.

The figures also indicate that trade in illegal drugs makes more than £200 billion a year for criminals and terrorists.

Recent studies reveal that regular use of cannabis elevates the risk of developing psychotic symptoms in older age.

This is while moderate use of marijuana increases the risk of psychotic symptoms in young people.

MOL/HRF