The House of Commons Scottish affairs committee began an investigation after almost 1,200 people died from drug misuse in Scotland in 2018Proposals to declare Scotland’s high death rates from illegal drugs a public health emergency have been rejected by ministers in Westminster. The UK government has also refused to sanction the decriminalisation of possession of small amounts of illicit substances for personal use, or the creation of “safe” drug injection rooms. The three measures were the central proposals of the House of Commons Scottish affairs committee, which held an investigation into drugs deaths last year following a record number in Scotland in 2018. Following publication of the UK government’s response, Pete Wishart, the SNP MP who chairs the committee, said: “We are surprised and disappointed by the government’s almost wholesale rejection of recommendations by a Westminster select committee after collecting a substantial body of evidence from

Source: The Times September 06, 2020 23:03 UTC