Bayer Heroin Bottle

As reported in this week’s Sunday Times, Lord McCluskey the former Solicitor General for Scotland has called for the legalisation of heroin and other controlled substances.

Lord McCluskey was a High Court judge and, infamously, once defended Paul McCartney against drugs charges in 1973 – so he knows his way around drugs laws.

Calling for the drugs problem to be treated as a health issue, rather than a criminal matter, he is quoted as saying “If people are addicted to heroin, give them heroin.” before clarifying “I’m not suggesting you sell it at newsagents …”

By a co-incidence of timing, Clive James has written an article for the BBC website, arguing that “persuading people that real life is better than narcotics is not an easy job”.  He does point out that it was only in 1968 that heroin was criminalised – and that the drug became more popular after it was banned.

The Scottish Government’s drugs strategy, published in May 2008, is called “The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland’s Drug Problem”.  As is often said, the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem.

The approach stresses the importance of treatment and support, while operating within the context of prohibition (the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is a reserved matter and cannot be amended by the Scottish Parliament).  Key legal planks to the strategy include: specialist drug courts operating in Glasgow and Fife; Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) and a pilot scheme involving the mandatory drug testing of arrestees.

It is unlikely that drugs will be legalised in the UK any time soon, but the law already seems to be heeding Lord McCluskey’s call to treat drugs as a medical problem rather than a purely criminal one.

Tags: courts, crime, criminal