THE mother of an Oxford schoolgirl who died from an accidental overdose has condemned the government’s ‘appalling’ newly-published drugs strategy.

Anne-Marie Cockburn has campaigned for drugs to be legalised and regulated since 15-year-old Martha Fernback died of a cardiac arrest in 2013 after taking lethally strong ecstasy powder.

The Home Office’s long-awaited 50-page strategy was published on Friday and outlined a continued commitment to tackling the problems caused by drugs through the criminal justice system

But as the fourth anniversary of the tragedy looms, Ms Cockburn renewed her call for a radical rethink of drugs policy in the UK.

She said: “I said ‘just say no’ to Martha and she was dead within a few weeks.

“This strategy is the same as the [existing] Misuse of Drugs Act; it shoves everything under the carpet and creates a black market.

“Prohibition [in the United States] didn’t work for alcohol; it created a lot more harm. People wanted to drink and were drinking 100 per cent alcohol and going blind. We’ve got a lot to learn from that.

“All the expert advice and opinions encourage the government to find a different approach, but it’s same old, same old.”

Since losing her daughter Ms Cockburn has become a strident anti-prohibition campaigner, speaking at schools and prisons across the country and documenting her efforts on a website in memory of her daughter, whatmarthadidnext.org.

Martha, a pupil at Cherwell School, collapsed in Hinksey Park on July 20, 2013, after taking half a gram of MDMA.

A book published to mark the one-year anniversary of her death, 5,742 Days – a reference to the number of days she lived – has recently been commended in The Independent’s 2017 ‘Happy List’ of inspirational reads.

Mrs Cockburn said: “It’s been four years, and that is incredible to me. I still can’t believe it. I have to try to prevent parents from knowing what it’s like to be me.

“On Thursday I will have a very quiet, close group of friends with me.

“Maybe we’ll have a picnic, depending on the weather.

“I’m going to make sure that Martha is never forgotten about. She was an exceptional person and it’s important to keep the spirit of her alive.”

In 2015 deaths from drug overdoses hit record levels in England and Wales, with 3,674 drug poisoning deaths registered through coroners’ rulings.