Should personal drug use be decriminalised and handled by the NHS instead of police and courts?
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, personal possession of controlled drugs remains a criminal offence in the UK with penalties up to five years in prison for Class B substances. Police forces increasingly use diversion schemes directing low-level offenders to treatment rather than prosecution. Scotland's drug deaths rose 11% to 1,133 in the latest year, prompting First Minister John Swinney to back decriminalisation for personal use while Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected it to avoid sending mixed messages to young people.
2 Opinions
We have problems with drugs as it is and some drugs are too dangerous to let them roam free among society.
See my suggestion elsewhere to make the NHS a Designated Non-Partisan Service (DNPS). With no points to score and no virtues to signal, we can get on with solving the problems.