Could decriminalisation solve Scotland's drug problem?
Could decriminalisation solve Scotland's drug problem?
Scotland has the highest drugs death rate in Europe, with narcotics claiming more than 100 lives on average every month.
The Scottish government is proposing to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use to "help and support people rather than criminalise and stigmatise them".
But the UK government, which controls drugs policy, has rejected the plan as dangerous and says it has no intention of giving the Scottish Parliament the power to enact the new policy.
Pretty much all the things that are used to justify drug prohibition are caused by drug prohibition, not the drugs themselves. By that I mean overdose deaths, crime to get money for drugs etc. Treating drug addicts as sick people in need of medical help rather than as criminals would go a long way. Wherever this has been tried, it was successful. Yet conservatives in all countries staunchly oppose anything of the kind. One would have to wonder why, if it wasn't so blindingly obvious.
Seems like a good idea to me, as long as (and this is a big 'if') they get the support structures in place and ensure they are adequate and long term.
Certainly criminalisation has not been a solution, and it's hard to see that it ever could be.