Pubdate: Mon, 22 Feb 2016
Source: Herald, The (Glasgow, UK)
Copyright: 2016 Herald & Times Group
Contact:  http://www.heraldscotland.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4784

LIBDEMS UNVEIL DRUG POLICY TO TREAT RATHER THAN JAIL DRUG USERS

PEOPLE caught with drugs for personal use would be referred for 
health treatment rather than sent to jail under proposals unveiled by 
the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Leader Willie Rennie said Scotland's current drugs policy "is costly 
and fails to work for everyone".

Drugs misuse costs society UKP3.5 billion a year  amounting to around 
UKP900 for every adult in Scotland, he said.

The LibDems will call for drug users to be "referred for treatment, 
education or civil penalties, ending the use of i mpr i s on ment " , 
in a ma n i fe sto p ol ic y put forward for discussion at its 
Scottish spring conference this week.

Possession of class A drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine and 
magic mushrooms is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

People caught with class Bs such as amphetamines or cannabis face 
five years in jail, and possession of class Cs such as 
tranquillisers, some painkillers and GHB is punishable by up to two 
years in prison.

Writing in the Sunday Herald, Mr Rennie said: "We are proposing a 
fundamental reform of the way drug users are prosecuted and 
sentenced. Not drug dealers.

"We think it is right that they can face up to life in prison.

"But we do not believe vulnerable people struggling with addiction 
should be imprisoned simply for possessing drugs for personal use."

Mr Rennie said too many users have been sent to prison.

The LibDems' plan is designed to address the mental health, housing 
and employment problems faced by recovering addicts.

Mr Rennie added: "The first step towards tackling problems created by 
drugs misuse is to stop treating addiction as a crime."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom