I have to congratulate Scott Begbie on his item about trying to de-criminalise most drugs to try to stop the need by addicts to have to live a life of misery for both themselves and families.
It has been very successful in Portugal, and the tax goes to help people with the problem with clinics etc.
Vancouver and California have also seen that working with people who have the problem has been a very good switch.
Surely, with the shocking drug deaths in Scotland, this would be well worth trying, or has the SNP no real desire to do anything to try and turn the shameful reputation we have throughout Europe.
Come on Nicola, do something radical.
N.S.
Come together to beat drugs
It has been reported that an anti-drug project – ADDER (Addiction, Disruption, Diversion, Enforcement, and Recovery), in England & Wales, is showing very good signs of success.
In the seven months since it began, evidence from a pilot region, Blackpool – one of the worst-hit areas, show that over 80 drug criminal gangs supplying the drug trade, have been intercepted, with an increase of around 12% of addicts admitted for treatment.
The project is now being rolled out to more areas.
In contrast, Scotland, which was apparently asked to join the project three times, ‘went its own way’, and has again been dubbed ‘Drug Capital of Europe’. Why did the Scottish Government not join the project? I hope it is not petty politics.
As most of our illicit substances come from south of the border, surely we should stick together, and tackle this scourge UK-wide by catching these criminals, and make more help and treatment available.
JH, ABERDEEN.
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