outgoing chief constable, when he left the job he said effectively that been running a de facto criminalisation policy for several years. that hasn t been criminal sanction for people carrying or for people using drugs. i wonder whether you believe that the policy the scottish government is pushing is the answer. scottish government is pushing is the answer- the answer. well, it s not a question the answer. well, it s not a question of the answer. well, it s not a question of belief - the answer. well, it s not a question of belief is - the answer. well, it s not a question of belief is a - the answer. well, it s not a . question of belief is a question the answer. well, it s not a - question of belief is a question of where the evidence takes us. the evidence suggests that there are five things we can do in scotland for that and one of those is decriminalisation. to be clear, what would be met by decriminalisation, what does it say to you, what is state intervention in someone cau
they have a drug problem they should be offered support and help to address that problem. in the issues they may face as well is towards morning and fines and eventually imprisonment. and the policeman has correct that has been de facto decriminalisation at a slow process but we still have people sanctioned and harassed in possession. ii but we still have people sanctioned and harassed in possession. if there are dru: and harassed in possession. if there are drug takers and harassed in possession. if there are drug takers in and harassed in possession. if there are drug takers in a and harassed in possession. if there are drug takers in a particular- and harassed in possession. if there are drug takers in a particular area | are drug takers in a particular area then of course drug pushers will find them. and scotland like every country is at the whim of the global drugs market. how concerned are you about the way it s changing? from what i read today there is a new emerging synth
honest, as become quite . 0ne that treatment as a focus and to be honest, as become quite . one of the significant is the size of the population who require treatment but also at the present of population actually in treatment. half the people who benefit from treatment in scotland are actually in treatment. in england it s more like 75%. not only about scaling up treatment but more to try to offer people. they have a greater variety of treatment. treatment hasn t always focus on drug use but on other peoples aspirations. the rest of us required in life. it s something to live, something to do and yet a positive social network, contact your family to the extent that you contact family and something to do. the scottish government seems to pointing to decriminalisation of drugs as a panacea for this. the
is it better or worse? definitely better. after decriminalising it? after decriminalising, definitely better. if you compare portugal to scotland, we have such a wide difference, such a huge difference between the two countries. portugal does have far fewer overdose deaths than scotland, but the mayor of porto fears it s normalised drug use. so has this policy failed? a failure is maybe too strong a word because it would mean going back, and i don t think we should go back to the original plan of prohibition, but i think it should be criminalised in some places. no one here says decriminalisation is a magic bullet, but whatever the reasons, scotland has a drugs death crisis and portugal doesn t. james cook, bbc news, porto.
done in karma nirvana, this ngo that you established afterwards, has made any difference to the mindset of people, including women like your late mother? i think it has. i think it s made an influence in terms of sending out that strong message. i mean, i campaigned for the criminalisation of forced marriage. that, i m hearing, from the younger generation today, is acting as a deterrent, as almost a tool to negotiate with family members. to be clear, you achieved that. yeah. i mean, that legislation was passed. absolutely. and younger people are telling me now that, we re able to say to our parents, you can t do this to us. it s against the law. you ll go to prison . so. but i have to say, change is really slow in that community, where this is happening. where the change is happening is the increase in reporting. karma nirvana, i left in 2018, has a national helpline now. we have civil, criminal law. recently, the age of consent for marriage for children in england and wales has