The War on Drugs has been lost in Scotland according to Tom Wood, a senior policeman and the head of Scotland’s Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams.
The startling claim about the futility of Scotland’s anti-drug efforts has been stirring up a lot of debate too.
With over 50,000 addicts and with 5% of 12 year olds having experimented with drugs, Scotland does certainly have a problem on its hands. The issue of how to deal with the national drug problem
is starting to stir up some heated discussions.
On the one hand, you have the zero-tolerance crowd who seem to hold major sway over drug policy in the country and against whose actions Wood’s comments were largely directed.
On the other hand there are the harm reductionists who believe strategies such as heroin injecting rooms are the answer to the growing problem.
There are also a few who might be called the ‘pragmatic centre’ who hold that a combination of opposing strategies might be the best way forward.
With the startling statistics from Scotland as well as the recent pronouncement by Wood, we can expect to be hearing a lot more from all camps in the coming weeks and months.