Welcome moves to open up Scottish drugs debate

THIS paper welcomes anything which advances the debate around drugs in Scotland in an adult and informed way.

For too long, the powers that be have shied away from looking the issue of drugs – and decriminalisation or legalisation – straight in the eye and discussing it rationally.

We no longer live in an era where drugs is a taboo subject. This is not the 1990s when politicians who used drugs in their youthful days, or even in their not so youthful days, had to live in fear of being outed by some tabloid reporter or editor – who probably used drugs themselves at one point or other in their lives.

We live in an era where soft drug use – smoking cannabis, for example – is relatively common across all sections of society.

So in the spirit of open debate, we are glad to see moves within civic society to discuss the issue of the decriminalisation of cannabis for medicinal use. This surely is one area where some intelligent and progressive steps can be taken. Even the most reactionary must find it hard to say that allowing a cancer patient or MS sufferer to use medicinal marijuana to relieve pain and suffering is a bad thing – particularly as the use of opiates as palliative care is standard practice. It is good that the First Minister has said there is a “specific case” to be made for relaxing the laws surrounding medical marijuana. Her position stands in stark contrast to the UK Government where the prohibitionary Home Office has ruled out any such moves.

Self-evidently, there is little that Sturgeon or her Cabinet can practically do on the issue as drugs is a reserved issue for Westminster. However, words cost nothing – and while tentative steps to open up the debate in an adult fashion are welcome, it would be good to see the parties in Scotland be a little more forthright.

Letting the UK Home Office know there is a will in Scotland to explore the decriminalisation of cannabis in order to make the lives of dying patients more bearable would be of benefit to all the nations of Britain in bringing a subject into the foreground which for too long has had to hide in the shadows due to attitudes more befitting the 1950s than 2016.