A SORRY BUNCH OF REJECTS

Fury as Tories refuse every recommendation made by Scots MPs to prevent drug deaths

Decriminalise drug use rejected. Declare a public health emergency - REJECTED.

Review DWP’s use of sanctions on vulnerable people REJECTED.

Adopt a public health approach to drugs policy - REJECTED.

Follow more closely the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - REJECTED.

Reform the Misuse of Drugs Act - REJECTED. Open DCRs

THE Tory Government has been slammed for rejecting every major recommendation by Scottish MPs after an extensive inquiry into our drug death crisis.

Members of the Scottish Affairs Committee travelled to countries in Europe and North America and took evidence from hundreds of witnesses as they sought strategies to replace the failing measures of recent years.

But the response announced today – 10 months after the inquiry’s report – shamelessly dismisses almost every main principle in it.

The response also makes a mockery of the Drugs Summit held in Glasgow – chaired by policing minister Kit Malthouse – in February, where most speakers argued for more liberal approaches in our drugs strategy.

It had been hoped the Tories could be persuaded to adopt the progressive measures employed successfully in many countries.

The recommendations were in line with the Record’s views. We’ve argued for the decriminalisation of drug use and adoption of health- based strategies, like those in Portugal, where getting people into treatment is the priority.

The committee also supported the opening of drug consumption rooms. But ministers have underlined they will stick to the same punitive attitudes and continue to target cutting off the drug supply, which is regarded as a pipe dream.

The Government’s brazen rejection of the entire report led Pete Wishart, the chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee at the time of the inquiry, to say: “We argued that a public health approach will do better at tackling the drivers of problem drug use, as opposed to the stigmatisation offered by the current criminal justice approach that effectively blocks routes to recovery.

“We are surprised and disappointed by the Government’s almost wholesale rejection of recommendations by a Westminster Select Committee after collecting a substantial body of evidence from people with lived experience, charities and academics, as well as legal, criminal justice and health professionals – few of these will find comfort in this response.”

He added: “The Government describes its approach to tackling the issue as ‘evidence-based’ but of fers little evidence supporting it and fails to address why the evidence we collected should be discounted. We’d like to see the Gover nment’s evidence, as well as an outcome document from February’s UK Drugs Summit.”

The Westminster investigation spoke to many witnesses who had featured in the Record’s investigation into Scotland’s drug deaths, which reached 1187 last year – the highest death rate of any developed nation. The Government’s response reveals reliance on a jaded approach.

It stated: “We work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council lead for drugs and are determined to crack down on criminals who supply drugs, causing misery to families and communities. We are also intent on maximising efforts internationally to tackle drug trafficking. The National Crime Agency works with partners around the world to target crime groups that traffic drugs into the UK.”