Scotland’s government wants drugs to be decriminalised

Last week the Scottish Government called for the decriminalization of possession of personal quantities of drugs in a bid to tackle the country’s alarming number of overdose deaths, which ranks among the highest in Europe. In a policy proposal, Edinburgh’s semi-autonomous government, led by the pro-independence Scottish National Party, said removing criminal sanctions for drug possession “would allow for the provision of safe, evidence-based harm reduction services”.

“The war on drugs has failed,” said Scotland’s Drugs Minister Elena Whitham at a press conference alongside Helen Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister, and former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss, another advocate for drug policy reform.

“Our current drug law doesn’t stop people from using drugs, it doesn’t stop people from suffering the harm that comes from it and, crucially, it doesn’t stop people from dying,” Whitham added. “In fact, I would say here today that criminalization increases the harm that people suffer. criminalization kills.”

Europe’s highest death rate from overdose

The death rate from drug overdoses in Scotland is three times that of the UK as a whole and the highest in Western Europe. Last year there were 1,330 fatal drug overdoses in Scotland, a country of just 5.5 million people, according to government figures quoted by the Associated Press.

“Every single drug death is a tragedy, behind every statistic there is a grieving family and community,” the Scottish Government wrote in a policy statement released on Friday. “The scale of drug-related deaths in Scotland requires that we use every lever at our disposal and we recognize that our response to this crisis must be comprehensive. This administration has consistently maintained that tackling the drug emergency requires a concerted and radical public health approach.”

The Scottish Government referred to drug policies in Portugal, where criminal sanctions were abolished in 2001 in favor of health-oriented reforms focused on drug treatment for problem users. The Scottish Government said a similar decriminalization plan would “relieve individuals of the fear of accessing treatment and support, reduce drug-related harm and ultimately improve lives”.

Whitman also said the government would like to see legislation changed to allow the establishment of supervised drug consumption facilities that have been shown to save lives and encourage people with substance abuse disorders to seek help. Other proposals include introducing a regulated drug supply to promote consistency and safety.

Whitman said the situation would continue to deteriorate without a radical change in drug policy, adding that Scotland “is in for a storm in terms of synthetic opioids and new and novel street benzodiazepines heading our shores”.

“If we’re not prepared for that in the face of 21st century drug laws, I’m very scared of what that might look like,” she said.

UK government quick to reject decriminalization proposal

But the proposal to decriminalize drugs is being opposed by Conservatives in both Scotland and the UK Government. Current policy in Scotland allows those caught possessing drugs to be released with a police warning, but full decriminalization would require the approval of the Conservative British government in London. Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said there would be no approval.

“There are no plans to change our tough stance on drugs,” he said.

“Illegal drugs destroy lives and destroy communities. “We are committed to preventing drug use, by supporting people in treatment and recovery and by tackling the supply of illicit drugs, as set out in our 10-year drug strategy,” Britain’s Home Office wrote in a statement after Scotland’s proposed decriminalization plan became. “Given the harms involved, including the risks posed by organized criminals taking every opportunity to operate an exploitative and violent business model, we have no plans to decriminalize drugs.”

Russell Findlay, Justices spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party, said: “It is madness to want to solve Scotland’s drug death crisis, the worst in Europe, by essentially legalizing heroin, crack and other Class A drugs.” bring our streets. It would endanger more lives.”