IT'S time for Scotland to change its approach to drug abuse. The current policy towards it is costly and fails to work for everyone.
Drugs misuse costs society £3.5 billion a year. That’s around £900 for every adult in Scotland. We’re not winning the so-called war on drugs and we have to consider the alternatives.
This week, at the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ Spring Conference, our manifesto commitment to promote a change in drug policy will be set out. What we are proposing is a fundamental reform of the way drug users are prosecuted and sentenced. Not drug dealers. We think it is right that they can face up to life in prison. But we do not believe vulnerable people struggling with addiction should be imprisoned simply for possessing drugs for personal use.
We will treat drug use as a health and social issue rather than a criminal one. We will address the mental health, housing and employment problems that are so often found hand-in-hand with drug abuse. And we will work to alleviate the untold misery caused by serious drug addiction.
Scotland’s prisons are filled to the brim with people who are addicted to drugs. Too often people convicted of minor drug possession offences find themselves becoming entangled in the criminal justice system, which does nothing to help them combat their addiction and instead further jeopardises their future employment and life chances.
The first step towards tackling the problems created by drugs misuse is to stop treating addiction as a crime. We want to institute a step-change in treatment of addiction and want to stop drug users being thrown in jail. Our policy will free up resources to tackle the people and organised crime groups producing and dealing the drugs addicts use.
Drugs policy is a matter reserved to Westminster. But there is flexibility in how the legislation is enforced in Scotland. At the start of this year, Police Scotland introduced a system to deal with low-level crimes by issuing on-the-spot recorded warnings. Now, if you are caught in possession of a small amount of cannabis, you might receive one of those instead of clogging up the criminal justice system. This is a change we have welcomed and want to build on.
At Westminster, Liberal Democrats have called for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. As well as supporting those calls we would take UK-wide action to tackle the importation of drugs from abroad and production of drugs at home.
We also want to widen access to the facilities offering treatment services for alcohol and drugs abuse. Albyn House in Aberdeen is a good example of the social and economic value of a Designated Place. It is a safe house, a secure place for those found drunk and incapable by police to spend the night, instead of being placed in a police cell or taking up a hospital bed.
But as of April, Aberdeen City Alcohol and Drug Partnership will cease funding for Albyn House. The Scottish Government has washed its hands of its responsibility to keep these kinds of services available. Instead it has passed the buck onto health boards and said they should provide the funding.
The final round of budget discussions takes place in Parliament this week. Under John Swinney’s proposals there is a staggering £15 million slashed from the main funding lines for drug and alcohol services. Given that only £70 million was allocated for them last year, that represents a cut of about 20%.
It will be more costly to people’s lives, communities and our economy if the services provided by alcohol and drug partnerships disappear. That’s why I have written to the Deputy First Minister asking him to make sure his Budget guarantees funding for specialist detox facilities and other drug and alcohol abuse services. Their doors must remain open.
The Liberal Democrat position on alcohol and drug misuse is clear and has been for a long time. We want an evidence-based approach to drugs that reduces crime and keeps people healthy.
We are the only major party recognising that we are not winning the so-called war on drugs. We are the only major party prepared to tackle the harm drugs cause. And while others try to look tough on crime, we are the only party willing to look at alternatives to address the addictions that so often underpin it.
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