Police forces are to get extra cash to increase the number of first-time or other drug users caught in possession who are put on out-of-court disposal schemes with conditions to attend rehab courses. They face prosecution if they fail to complete them within 16 weeks.

Other conditions can include fines, paying compensation or curfews. Ministers will also consult on “civil” sanctions including the confiscation of passports, driving licences and travel bans – described by Mr Johnson as “things that will actually interfere with their lives”.

Police will get powers to to search the seized phones of drug dealers to identify their clients and text them to discourage them from using drugs and direct them towards support.

Drug testing on arrest will be introduced across all 43 police forces in England and Wales as part of the crackdown and to prevent offenders’ habits from spiralling into violent crime.

The £15 million plan will enable police to better identify those breaking the law through drug use, but also those who are dependent and need help to kick their addiction.

Anyone testing positive after arrest for “trigger” crimes such as theft, fraud or drug possession would be required to be assessed for treatment. Those who refuse face prosecution, with a maximum penalty of up to three months in jail or a £2,500 fine.

Judges will also get powers to order the drug testing of anyone serving a community sentence  for an offence linked to illicit substances. They face jail if they test positive.

The crackdown follows a 13 per cent rise in the number of drug offences to 175,000 in 2019-20 and evidence that half of all murders, and half of acquisitive crimes, are linked to drugs.

In the next three years, the Government will commit to dismantling more than 2,000 county lines, the method by which drugs are transported from cities to suburban rural towns, and conducting 6,400 operations to disrupt organised criminals’ activities – an increase of 20 per cent.

The twin strategy of offering greater treatment services at the same time as taking a more hardline approach to drug-related crime has been piloted in 10 areas with the highest levels of drugs misuse, including Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Swansea.