Rennie calls for end to imprisonment for drug possession as 200 jailed every year

NEARLY 1,000 people have been imprisoned for possession of drugs in the last five years rather than being sent for treatment or education, Scottish Government figures show.

An average of 200 people a year are imprisoned for possession, but just 55 a year are given drug treatment and testing order s, figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats reveal.

The LibDems want an end to the use of imprisonment for people addicted to drugs, calling for it to be treated as a health issue instead.

Drug dealers would still face criminal sanctions and people failing to abide by treatment or education plans would be subject to additional penalties.

Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie was speaking as he campaigned in Glas- gow, where 189 people died as a result of drug misuse in 2014.

He said: “Drugs blight communities right across Scotland but the way that we tackle addiction is broken.

“These are 189 families who lost a son or a daughter, a mother or a father because of drugs.”

He continued: “Drugs destroy lives and we need to help people struggling with addiction get healthy through a programme of treatment and education.

“Locking 1,000 drug users up will not help them get clean.

“This needs to change.”