There will be few happy returns for the Misuse of Drugs Act when it celebrates its 50th birthday this week.
This law was well-meaning in its day but it caused significant harm and failed in what it set out to achieve.
It was not fit for purpose then and is entirely the wrong legislation to deal with today’s problems.
Groups like Transform Drugs and LEAP Scotland today explain how the antiquated legislation is a glaringly harmful blocker to the progressive drug strategies of other developed nations.
The Tory Government knows this yet chooses to do nothing.
Since 1971, when the law was introduced, everything has changed.
The drugs have changed from the opium and cannabis this legislation was very much focused on.
Dealers have changed, with more sophisticated gangs running supply lines that, frankly, cannot be intercepted or stopped in any meaningful way.
The consumption has changed – Scotland in particular has more people addicted to a wider variety of drugs.
In 2008, the system was “failing abysmally” according to Lord McCluskey.
He shared his brutal conclusion with Scottish p olice superintendents and what happened? Nothing.
But what can the police do if the law remains the same?
We can’t decriminalise drugs for personal use effectively without dismantling the Misuse of Drugs
Act itself.
The Westminster Tories must put this legislation out of its misery and bring in laws that help tackle our drug problems, not make them worse.
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