Call for leniency on drug users

Councils should overlook drug use at nightclubs and pubs as part of the decriminalisation of narcotics, say the Liberal Democrats.

The party believes the war on drugs has done nothing to stop lives being destroyed by addiction and passed a motion calling for users not to be prosecuted for possession.

Activists at the conference also voted overwhelmingly for the widespread introduction of injecting rooms, a move being seriously considered by Dundee City Council.

Scottish Liberal Democrat policy now calls for councils to base licensing decisions for venues, such as nightclubs, on how they keep their customers safe “rather than their efforts to assist the police in enforcing drug laws”.

Ben Lawrie, from Angus and Mearns, said: “This is not a motion that advocates the use of drugs. It is a motion that advocates compassion. It’s time to stop punishing people whose only victims are themselves.”

One of few dissenting voices, Tom Leatherland, from Dunfermline, said there are more important issues to be debating than decriminalising drugs.

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said 700 deaths are caused by drug use a year and demanded that Scotland learns from other countries that have adopted radical policies.

“For years the Liberal Democrat have supported a policy of decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use and provision of heroin assisted treatment clinics as a way of reducing both harm to the individual and to society,” he said. “This would prevent unnecessary deaths, alleviate the burden on our NHS and free the justice system to tackle the people and organised crime groups producing and dealing drugs.”