Police Scotland back Holyrood calls to decriminalise personal drug use
A leading adviser for the Scottish government is calling for people who are found with small quantities of illegal substances to not be prosecuted.
Dr Roy Robertson says resources should be focused towards treatment for addiction, instead of charging those who do not intend to supply to others.
Taylor, who’s 23 and used to live in Glasgow, spoke exclusively to the Glasgow Standard about the effect the current law had on his life.
He said: “I was arrested for smoking outside my house.
“I was supposed to move to America for college but that’s all ruined now.
“I understand that these laws are there for a reason, but I didn’t do anything with malicious intent and now my life ambitions are shattered.”
Detective Inspector Alan Elderbrant, from Police Scotland, said he would back a change in the law.
He said: “If that opportunity was afforded to us and if that change did come, then yes, that’s probably the route that we would go down.
“…they are people who use drugs. They are people in recovery. [We need] to understand what actually drives a person to become substance dependent, whether that’s alcohol or drugs.
“Until you actually start engaging with these people and speaking to them, you probably don’t realise that they are people.”
However, the UK government say they have no plans to change the existing law.
