Scotland wants to decriminalise drug possession

Under the new policies and proposed legislative changes, the country’s government wants to allow people found in possession of drugs to be treated and supported rather than criminalised and excluded.

As part of a new effort to tackle Scotland’s chronically high drug death rates, the country’s government is challenging Westminster to decriminalise all illicit substances for personal use.

During a press conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland’s drugs policy minister Elena Whitman laid out the new proposals, stating, ‘the war on drugs has failed.’

Under the new policies and proposed legislative changes, the Scottish government also wants to increase the testing of drugs to ensure safety, set up more provisions for emergency treatment of drug overdoses, and introduce new supervised drug consumption facilities.

‘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 Whitman at the event, which took place earlier today.