Sajid Javid has appointed a prominent academic to lead a major review into the links between drugs and serious violence.
The Home Secretary first announced his plans for a review into the way drugs are fuelling violent crime in his speech to the Conservative Party conference in October.
Professor Dame Carol Black will present her initial findings to the minister in the summer.
The review will look at who drug users are, what they are taking and how often, to build what the Home Office described as “the most in-depth and comprehensive picture of this issue to date”.
Drug use has come under the spotlight amid warnings the demand for illegal substances is helping fuel rising levels of knife crime and violence, and a number of senior figures have hit out at middle class cocaine users.
Javid said: “We know the sale and use of drugs is driving serious violence.
“This review will give us a greater understanding of the drugs market so we can make our action even more targeted.
“Dame Carol has a wealth of experience and I am confident that she will bring independence, integrity and a strong focus to the review.”
Dame Carol, the principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, has previously provided expert advice to the Government on the impact of drug addiction.
She said: “It is an enormous pleasure to have been asked to lead such an important piece of work which will provide an in-depth, evidence-based review of the demographics of drug use and drug supply.”