‘Surrender’ over drugs as adviser says jail should not be an option
PEOPLE caught with small amounts of drugs should no longer be prosecuted, a Scottish Government adviser has said.
In the latest white flag in the war on drugs, Dr Roy Robertson said politicians will have to ‘start talking seriously’ about whether to jail those found in possession of illegal substances.
The GP, who chairs the Scottish Government’s advisory group on drug-related harm, told the BBC: ‘There is a build up from all sorts of sectors to look at criminality.
‘Police in Durham, for example, have said that they aren’t going to chase people who are growing small quantities of herbal cannabis and that was a bit of a game-changer.
‘Similar things have happened in Scotland. The police are not chasing after people with small amounts of cannabis.
‘We are moving towards an area where policymakers and politicians are going to start talking seriously about a new structure to control drugs which allows for the fact that we don’t want to just put people in jail for the possession of drugs that they have for their own personal use.’
The Scottish Government is reviewing its drug strategy amid spiralling deaths and calls for radical change. The number of drug-related fatalities surged from 426 in 1995 to 867 in 2016, mainly through heroin use.
Chief Inspector Allan Elderbrant, Police Scotland’s sub- stance misuse lead, backed Dr Roberton’s call.
He said: ‘Until you actually started engaging with these people [drug users] and speaking to them, you probably don’t realise that they are people. They are people who use drugs. They are people in recovery.’
Drugs law is reserved to Westminster and possession is illegal. But there is evidence of a softer approach in Scotland, such as the issuing of Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs) as an alternative to prosecution.
Officers handed out 5,827 RPWs for cannabis possession in 2016/17.
Drugs expert Dr Ian Oliver, former chief constable of Grampian Police, said: ‘To go down this road is potentially very dangerous. Governments should reduce drug misuse and protect people from harm. This sends out a message that drugs can’t be all that harmful. The Scottish Government seems hell bent on legalising drugs.’
Tory public health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘The SNP’s soft-touch approach to illegal drugs will only facilitate misuse and mean more young people will endanger their lives.’
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘The nature of Scotland’s drug problem has changed significantly over the last decade, which will be reflected in our updated strategy on addressing substance misuse.’