Drug Policy in an Independent Scotland
It’s fair to say Scotland has had a troubled past with drugs and alcohol. In an independent country, we could change this
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Scotland’s modern history is one shaped by drug consumption. Just consider the ‘Drunken Scot’ stereotype as seen in media- or indeed one of our own proudest media exports, 1996's phenomenon Trainspotting. It’s a regrettable national trait we carry, but it has been justified- our country is still the drug capital of Europe. There were 295 drug related deaths per million people in 2018, with the next highest country recorded being Sweden at 81 deaths per million people. It’s a crisis that seems to be worsening as well- rates of deaths have more than doubled since 2009. This is not just a medical emergency, it is a national embarrassment.
We may not have to look very far for solutions though.
In the late 90s, Portugal was faced with a similar problem. Illegal narcotics had been flowing into the country at rapid rates since the 70s, causing an entire generation to be affected by drug misuse. An estimated 1% of the entire population were addicted to heroin, and the government was squandering resources on ineffective programmes. A new approach was clearly needed. What Portugal went on to do was unprecedented- in 2001, it became the first country in the world to decriminalise the consumption of all drugs. It is important to note that this is not the same thing as legalising all drugs- you can’t buy methamphetamines from Portuguese corner shops. What this move did do however, was change the emphasis of the crisis from a policing issue to a medical issue. Addicts are not arrested and sent to prison, they are instead sent to rehab. Those found with small quantities of drugs are summoned in front of a commission comprised of 3 people- a social worker, a psychiatrist and an attorney. Punishments from there include fines of up to €150, bans on visiting nightclubs and foreign travel bans, among others. None of those punishments include jail time though- and that is what makes the big difference. It does not take an expert to imagine what happens when you take the most vulnerable drug users and put them into a confined space filled almost exclusively with other users or dealers. Addiction is not overcome, it is drastically worsened. The lack of prison sentences also allows the police to focus on tacking the truly wicked of society, the drug dealers, and not the consumers who pose no active threat to society apart from themselves.
The results from the Portuguese experiment are very encouraging. Drug-induced deaths have fallen to five times lower than the EU average. Consumption has also fallen between 15–24 year olds, the group most at-risk in falling into addiction. So with this case study in mind, what actions can the Scottish government take to reduce drug deaths in Scotland? The reality is, not a lot. Not at the moment, anyway.
Drug policy is still a reserved matter to Westminster, and is a matter they are staunchly unwilling to compromise on. Kit Malthouse, Conservative M.P and Minister of State for Crime and Policing called Safe Consumption Rooms (safe areas where drug addicts can receive clean and less dangerous drugs, with successively reduced potency) a “distraction”. This was after he refused to attend a Scottish Government summit to discuss the issue of rising drug deaths, by the way. The Tories time and again continue to spit in the face of evidence, reason and consensus in Scotland, even when it’s their own representatives making the case for the potentially life-saving move of decriminalisation. The (very, VERY unlikeable) Tory MSP for the Glasgow region Annie Wells admitted she was open to the idea, and that ‘radical action’ was needed to tackle the crisis. The Conservative Government responded by totally ignoring her and refusing to consider her proposals. Westminster’s only alternative to the Tories have been no better- Labour under Keir Starmer have also ruled out liberalisation of drug laws. Therefore, the only credible path forward to alleviating the Scottish drug crisis is now taking matters into our own hands- independence.
The SNP’s Social Justice and Fairness Commission that explored social policy in an independent Scotland has recently commented on the issue. They very correctly make the point that the drug crisis is a health issue, and not a criminal issue, and highlight other positive changes like the rollout of Naloxone among police officers and the emphasis on community-based services, but I take issue with the biggest takeaway from the section- the implementation of citizens’ assemblies to look at the issue of the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use. Granted, I appreciate the issue being raised and I acknowledge that it’s a step in the right direction, but the promise is noncommittal, and does not go far enough. Merely decriminalising certain drugs would still lead to fines for users- as a liberal, I firmly believe that adults of legal age should be able to buy and use harmless drugs on their own volition.
It must be said that an independent Scotland would not be beholden to this report- it would be free to pursue even more progressive policies when it comes to drugs. We ought to think beyond the purview of the drug death crisis, and move towards a liberal society in this regard- and that means not just decriminalisation, but the legalisation of many less harmful drugs. Substances like cannabis and psychedelics have very little, if any harmful impact on the body physically- it is for the individual to determine their own mental capacity for use, like with alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco are two widely sold products that are both still classed as drugs, but are able to be sold over-the-counter thanks to a two-step solution that should serve as framework for cannabis and psychedelics sales- legalisation and regulation. Licensed vendors should trade these goods that have been safety-checked, which would lead to safer substances- and, of course, profit. Canada, which loudly legalised Cannabis in 2018 has reported billions of dollars in profit from the drug- CA$2.6 billion in 2020 alone, in fact. There is a real market for weed- it would be prudent business for the government to capitalise on this market while at the same time making the practice safer and tacking a multitude of different issues that feed from it, like addiction and crime.
Psychedelics are a more touchy subject, carrying connotations of hippies, love-ins, and a certain mid-80s aura of danger and wickedness around them. On the physical level though, research agrees that psychedelics like LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms have very low toxicity, with few effects on the body. The substances effects on the mind are more well documented, but as mentioned before, individuals are able to determine what is comfortable to them and what is not for themselves- rather than banning all substances at all levels completely, even for medical use. The emergence of psychedelics in the fields of mental health treatment, psychiatry and addiction has been well documented- some argue they are poised to potentially replace antidepressants. Given the promise of the relatively unexplored field of psychedelics, can we really afford to keep ignoring the issue?
In my opinion, drugs will probably always be a can to be kicked down the road given the current attitudes towards them from those in power. Around the world though, those attitudes are changing. I think Scotland is one of these places where minds are being changed, however slow our adoption of the ideas of ‘legalisation and regulation’ are. It’s an important step we have to take as to not be left behind by the rest of the liberal west, and its a step Scotland can only take standing on its own two feet, away from Westminster.
Bibliography
https://mjbizdaily.com/canada-tallies-ca2-6-billion-in-cannabis-sales-for-2020-up-120-over-2019/
