The Scottish Government has called for the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use.
Ministers in Scotland want the UK Government to agree to proposals that they claim will save lives.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Scotland’s drugs policy minister Elena Whitham called for a public health approach to tackling the drugs crisis.
She said discrimination would mean people found in possession of drugs were “treated and supported rather than criminalised and excluded”.
Drug laws are currently reserved to Westminster.
Whitham urged the UK Government to either devolve the powers on drugs to Holyrood or back proposals to decriminalise them.
The proposals were laid out in a new Scottish Government paper on drug law reform.
Other proposals include immediate legislative changes to allow Scottish ministers to implement harm reduction measures such as supervised drug consumption facilities, and increased access to the life-saving drug naloxone.
She said: “These are ambitious and radical proposals, grounded in evidence, that will help save lives.
“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.
“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.
“We are working hard within the powers we have to reduce drug deaths, and while there is more we need to do, our approach is simply at odds with the Westminster legislation we must operate within.
“These policies could be implemented by the Scottish Government through the devolution of further, specific powers to Holyrood including the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – or through independence.
“An immediate way for these policies to be enacted would be for the UK Government to use its existing powers to change its drug laws.
“Scotland needs a caring, compassionate and human rights informed drugs policy, with public health and the reduction of harm as its underlying principles, and we are ready to work with the UK Government to put into practice this progressive policy.”
The UK Government has been asked to comment.
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2023-07-07 10:32:59Z
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