Scottish Ministers Want To Decriminalize Drugs And Create Programs To Help Stem Overdose Deaths

Scottish ministers are urging the UK government to transform current drug laws in such a way that would decriminalize all drugs for personal use.

What happened: The Scottish government wants to shift focus from criminalization to providing help to people who are addicted, reported BBC News.

"We want to create a society where problematic drug use is treated as a health, not a criminal matter, reducing stigma and discrimination and enabling the person to recover and contribute positively to society,” said Scotland's Drugs Policy Minister Elena Whitham. "While we know these proposals will spark debate, they are in line with our public health approach and would further our national mission to improve and save lives."

Scotland has been trying for a while now to separate from the United Kingdom even though a referendum several years ago failed to achieve independence. This makes the change in drug policy very complicated as Westminster is in charge.

Why it matters: Statistics for 2021 showed that as many as 25 people a week have died in Scotland from drug-related problems. And even though the total number of people who died of drug misuse barely declined last year from 1,339 to 1,330 after eight straight years of increase, Scotland still has the highest drug-related death rate in Europe.

This is not the first time Scotland has tried to address the issue. In January, Angela Constance then Minister for Drug Policy supported Changing Lives project. “For this plan, and the National Mission, to be successful we need to address one of the most important and challenging barriers that people who use drugs face: stigma,” Constance said at the time.

What now: The new proposed legislative changes include:

• Allowing supervised drug consumption facilities;
• More substance-checking services;
• Increased access to emergency treatments for drug overdoses.

UK Opposition 

A spokesman for PM Rishi Sunak said the administration has “no plans to alter our tough stance on drugs.”

UK lawmakers are not the only ones expressing opposition. Scottish conservative just spokesman Russell Findlay disagrees. "It is madness to try and solve Scotland's drug death crisis, the worst in Europe, by essentially legalizing heroin, crack and other class-A drugs. This would put more drugs on our streets. It would put more lives at risk. "

Meanwhile, Across The Pond

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) director Nora Volkow, confirmed at last year's STAT Summit that safe consumption sites are proven to save lives. “Yes, it’s preventing people from dying,” she said.

In 2021, New York City became the first in the nation to open two overdose prevention centers (OPC), which, saved 125 lives in just two months, revealed a study published by the American Medical Association (AMA).

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