The absurd spectacle looms of police freeing up resources only to waste them trying to crack down on very similar substances.
What are people trying to “escape” from? And is the Government able to fully tackle these things?
But prisons policy won’t gain more priority from politicians without doing so from the rest of us.
Simply letting the police issue warnings for possession of Class A drugs is an inadequate substitute for proper reform.
Having been so focused on Covid health outcomes, we have lost sight of our nation’s terrible rate of drug-related deaths.
Whilst the First Minister flirts with illegal ‘shooting galleries’, the Government can step in to support the rehab beds Scotland really needs.
It’s welcome that we’re investing much more in services. But we need to tackle the causes too.
We should double down on Product Development Partnerships, which are alive and well in the field of public health.
This is not an easy issue to solve. Rough sleeping is as much a health issue as it is a housing issue – it is often a crisis of addiction and mental health as well.
Duncan Smith names “five giants”: family breakdown, worklessness, serious personal debt, addiction and educational underachievement.
We need a long-term poverty strategy and a Social Justice Cabinet Committee. And here’s a Christmas holiday plan for childrens’ food.
In the Thames Valley, those under 18 caught with drugs are given an education programme, with sanctions if they refuse to attend.
It now needs to get real. This is clearly the plan in the next few months, starting with the Queen’s Speech tomorrow, leading to the Levelling Up paper.