SCOTLAND WANTS TO DECRIMINALISE DRUGS

Scotland is facing the facts and wants to decriminalise possession of all drugs for personal use.

The country holds one of Europe’s highest overdose death rates.

Because Scotland is led by a semi-autonomous government and part of the United Kingdom, it can’t make its own laws without the input of the Conservative UK government in London.

The suggestion was denied almost immediately.

The Scottish National Party said that removing criminal penalties for drug possession would “allow for the provision of safe, evidence-based harm reduction services”.

According to government figures, Scotland’s death rate from overdoses is the highest in Western Europe and three times the rate in the rest of the United Kingdom as a whole.

In 2022 alone, there were almost 1,100 drug-related deaths in Scotland.

Scotland’s drugs minister Elena Whitham said at a press conference that the decriminalisation will free “individuals from drug-related harms”.

“Our current drug law does not stop people from using drugs, it does not stop people from experiencing the harm associated, and critically, it does not stop people from dying.”

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