Drugs

A cultural change and “brave and bold action” are required to tackle a “public health emergency” created by drug use in Scotland, according to a report sent to MSPs by a people’s panel. The panellists’ report recognises that progress has been made, but says that f

The Commons' Scottish Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry examining the pilot Safer Drug Consumption Facility (SDCF) which opened yesterday in Glasgow. The facility, on Hunter Street, is the UK’s first official consumption room for illegal drugs. Known as The Thistle, the facility will e

It would not be in the public interest to prosecute people in possession of illegal drugs at a healthcare facility in Glasgow, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has said. Her comments come after a request for clarification on the law by the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership and a facility

Criminal penalties for the possession, supply and production of ketamine are set to be increased in the UK following a government decision. Ketamine is currently controlled as a Class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, putting it on par with cannabis and amphetamines.

Ireland should decriminalise the possession of all illicit drugs for personal use and adopt a health-led approach to the use and misuse of substances, a committee of the Oireachtas, Ireland's parliament, has recommended. The joint committee on drugs use, which was established to examine and respond

The Scottish Parliament has announced the launch of a ‘people’s panel’ which will consider the question ‘What does Scotland need to do differently to reduce drug-related harms?’. The people’s panel, made up of 25 people from across Scotland who are broadly represe

A rise in steroid drugs found in Scottish prisons has been uncovered in a study led by the University of Dundee. Researchers at the University’s Leverhulme Research Centre of Forensic Science (LRCFS), part of the School of Science and Engineering, made the discovery while working in collaborat

A second residential rehabilitation service to support women and their children through recovery from addiction and substance use has been opened in Falkirk. The Scottish government has invested £5.5 million to support the development of this Aberlour Childcare Trust facility, as well as a hou

Health Secretary Neil Gray has said that the level of drug misuse deaths remains “hugely concerning”, as the latest statistics showed an increase of 121 deaths compared with 2022. Figures published by National Records of Scotland found that 1,172 people died due to drug misuse in 2023.

New initiatives to increase access to residential rehabilitation across Scotland which will be able to support more than 100 residential rehab placements have been introduced. Local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) that are experiencing high demand will be able to access extra funding from the n

A licence application has been submitted to the Home Office for a drug-checking pilot to be established in Glasgow. The Glasgow health and social care partnership service would be based at a hub on the same site as the UK’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility, which is scheduled to open late

Fourteen Scottish drugs support projects have been awarded funding. Ten projects will receive continuation funding of £2.6 million, with four new residential rehabilitation initiatives receiving £1m.

The US is set to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug in a move which is being heralded as a historic shift, but one which is unlikely to impact the criminal justice system. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has formally recommended that cannabis be moved from its current "Schedule I" clas

Germany has become the first major European country to legalise cannabis for personal recreational use. Under a new law which came into force yesterday, adults may possess up to 50 grams of cannabis and three plants at home and carry up to 25 grams of cannabis in public.

Lawmakers in Germany have voted to approve the partial legalisation of cannabis. The legislation advanced by the country's ruling coalition was backed by 407 parliamentarians. 226 voted against the bill and only four abstained.