Decriminalising drug taking

Yes that sounds a life I would want to live. Being supervised injecting my drug of choice. Will definitely put that on my
wish list for my children.
I imagine it will be incredibly beneficial for the middle classes and a disaster for the more vulnerable in society.

Doodledog

I think it is probably a good idea.

The idea of cannabis as a 'starter drug' is probably based on the fact that users have to get involved in 'druggie' circles to get it, so will know how to get other classes of drug.

County lines is a blight on some areas. I can't imagine how awful it must be to have a child caught up in that - I don't know anyone whose child or grandchild has been, but it's the sort of thing that makes my blood run cold. I also agree that prisons should be for people who are a danger to society, not those who are making a mess of their own lives. Maybe (in fact probably) the supply of most drugs should be controlled, and I'm not sure what would be the best way of doing that. I do feel that it shouldn't be young people getting locked up for getting caught up in a 'game' which supplies middle class coke users with their party drugs. The hypocrisy of many MPs is outrageous.

Hear, hear.

Portugal's efforts have worked very well for them.I have a friend in Lisbon who tells me that people will happily be supervised using their drugs ,the needles etc that we often see at the riverbank here ,are kept out of harms way and it has helped in the so called "war against drugs".There is NO war against drugs here ,its the same old attitude of lock them up and offer no solutions.
Dont they say if something doesn't work and you keep doing it regardless of the outcome; thats a sign of insanity? In this case Westminsters attitude to the misuse of drugs is without doubt insane its certainly no help

Re Portugal.
Decriminalising an offence does not mean it is legal. Speeding is a good example of an offence that is usually dealt with by a civil penalty.

Portugal has not changed the legal status of any drugs. They all remain illegal, however, the offence for possession has been changed from a criminal to a civil one.

Here is how the system works.

Portugal decriminalised use and possession of all drugs in a way that moves the focus from criminal punishment to treatment.

Drugs are not freely available, and they cannot legally be sold. If you are caught with a possession quantity of a drug, there are still civil consequences.

Until I read this book Good Cop, Bad War www.penguin.co.uk/books/432561/good-cop-bad-war-by-neil-woods/9781785032707 I thought it was a bad idea. My mind was turned 180 degrees and I now think it’s what should happen.

There are nuances in decriminalisation and it wouldn’t necessarily mean it would be a free-for-all. Portugal has done it with great success. The idea is that one may have cannabis for personal use and it is bought legally through chemists. Selling it legally means it can be taxed by the state and also that the quality is guaranteed.

It also means legal purchasers don’t come into contact with pushers who will want to try to sell harder drugs. Users are able to lead a non-criminal life and the police are freed from dealing with the end users and will able to go after the big guns who are the real criminals.

I really recommend the above book, written by someone who’s been at the sharp end.

I think it is probably a good idea.

The idea of cannabis as a 'starter drug' is probably based on the fact that users have to get involved in 'druggie' circles to get it, so will know how to get other classes of drug.

County lines is a blight on some areas. I can't imagine how awful it must be to have a child caught up in that - I don't know anyone whose child or grandchild has been, but it's the sort of thing that makes my blood run cold. I also agree that prisons should be for people who are a danger to society, not those who are making a mess of their own lives. Maybe (in fact probably) the supply of most drugs should be controlled, and I'm not sure what would be the best way of doing that. I do feel that it shouldn't be young people getting locked up for getting caught up in a 'game' which supplies middle class coke users with their party drugs. The hypocrisy of many MPs is outrageous.

fancythat

Of course it isnt a good idea.
It isnt even worth me thinking any more about it.

it wasnt a good idea when this idea came around a decade ago or whenever, and two decades ago, etc etc.
A total non starter of a good idea.

What would you suggest? Because the present system isn’t working.
The only result it’s achieving is making drug barons wealthier by the day and people’s lives a misery.
Do you see county lines scrotes outside school tempting children with vapes which will lead onto them ( the children) going onto be county line runners.

I believe it's a good idea - and working in other countries. There are problems caused by the illegality itself. Users are in a 'criminal' circle, where there's secrecy and links/access to other crime.

Tobacco and alcohol are harmful and highly addictive - yet are freely available, taxed, regulated and controlled. I see no difference. All are enjoyed recreationally, without problems, by many - and used to self-medicate by those with MH issues.

Drugs isn't a devolved issue therefore WM stops us making our choices to attempt to control the problem.THEN screams about the issue in the commons regularly.
IF its so bad let us deal with it in a progressive manner ,the current methadone substitution ISN'T an answer ,it doesn't work and we and I imagine the other 3 countries are all paying massive costs to keep people ON methadone instead of weaning them off drugs by treating it as a medical issue .
Westminster is stuck in the dark ages over this,or its creaming off the profit from the methadone .
I live in a stunningly beautiful part of Scotland BUT its also a very deprived area since the days of Thatcher and the loss of local industry.We have a bad drugs problem with some people being prescribed Methadone for 30 years !!! Thats insane in my opinion.Open the drugs rooms where safe consumption can be monitored,stop arresting people who use drugs for health reasons and work to help folk instead of make them into criminals .
I know its all very "new age " and this is clearly the wrong audience for any progressive solutions...but please try to understand this IS the 21st century and prisons are overcrowded and young folk locked up for drugs offences learn much more about the wrong things IN prison than out.Its time to change how we see this

Of course it isnt a good idea.
It isnt even worth me thinking any more about it.

it wasnt a good idea when this idea came around a decade ago or whenever, and two decades ago, etc etc.
A total non starter of a good idea.

Methadone is free on prescription. I’ve known two heroin addicts who say it’s more addictive than heroin.

www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jan/10/why-methadone-drugs-dont-work

If alcohol was invented today it would probably be made illegal. Alcohol causes no end of problems for the individual and for society.

there are hundreds of thousands of people who use drugs recreationally and do no harm to anyone else
To be fair, you obviously know a wider group of people than I do. I don’t know anyone who uses drugs other than tobacco.

And they never move into anything stronger?
Never fund their drug taking by illicit means?
Drug taking is evidently a huge problem in Scotland.
How is the huge problem defined? By the number of arrests or by problems caused by drug taking?
If it’s by number of arrests, then decriminalising it makes sense.
Crime figures in Scotland or anywhere else would plummet if you could take drugs at will without being arrested.
If the huge problem is defined by problems caused by drug using, what benefit will decriminalising drugs make?

Where would they get the drugs?
No need to arrest the suppliers like those I’ve just watched on a TV program. The suppliers would be just like a pharmacy or a supermarket supplying what customers want to buy.
Which drugs will be allowed for recreational use? Cannabis? Cocaine? Ecstasy?

Presumably this is just Class C drugs?

paddyann
Scotland has the worst record for drug-related deaths in Europe - would decriminalising all drugs help or make things worse?

I agree about finding and arresting the dealers but would more work without fear of arrest if drugs are decriminalised?

I think the police need to do more to prevent drug-driving as it is.
This could make the potential for accidents far worse.

Terrible idea. The misery of mental illness which often originates from smoking weed is horrendous. People start on this then go on to the stronger stuff. I hate the smell, it’s vile. If it’s going to be decriminalised then they need to put in strict measures such as only personal use inside your home. I’ve been unable to sit in my garden owing to a neighbour smoking it in their garden. My house has reeked of it.

I also think it is a good idea for reasons already stated

I think it’s a good idea.

Its decriminalising drugs for personal use ,there are hundreds of thousands of people who use drugs recreationally and do no harm to anyone else.Then there are the people who use cannabis for medical use...I know a couple of folk who do that ,and the fear of being criminalised for taking something that works for their intense pain is unfair and unjust.

Its not these users the police should be arresting ....its the folk who earn millions from selling drugs .Putting people in jail for sing a drug that harms no one else is ridiculous ,Other countries have decriminalised and made drugs safer in the process .
Sad that WM put the cabosh on the Scottish proposal in the same way they stopped us using well documented solutions to help with the drug issues here.Its WM who is out of step by denying progressive solutions to the problems .

What do you think Mollygo? I don’t think it’s a good idea I have known people with drug addicted sons. The total misery they caused their parents and the crimes against innocent victims they did for their ‘fix’ was horrendous.
The government tend to give in to demands that don’t consider the interests of the majority of the population. However the demands of minority groups are met something is sadly wrong.