Scottish Greens welcome new guidance on Class A drugs
Scottish Greens have warmly welcomed new guidance from the Lord Advocate which means police can issue recorded warnings for possession of Class A drugs instead of it automatically leading to arrest.
In a statement to parliament, Dorothy Bain QC said that Recorded Police Warning guidelines, normally confidential, will now apply to all drugs.
Commenting, Scottish Greens justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman said: “I know these warning guidelines are normally confidential, so I’m very pleased that the Lord Advocate was able to share that police will now have flexibility when dealing with all cases of possession of drugs.
“Given Scotland’s worryingly high drug death rate, it’s important we move to a harm reduction approach, and this move is an important step given the limited powers Scotland has to address it. It is especially needed in places like Dundee, where whole communities are devastated by the failures of the ‘war on drugs’ approach.
“Despite the fact much policy is reserved to Westminster, I hope we can go further and find ways to make safe consumption rooms possible, which could be a crucial part of tackling Scotland’s worryingly high drug death rates.”