PM rejects drugs decriminalisation after Swinney backs it

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he does not support decriminalising drugs for personal use, days after Scotland's first minister backed it.

After the latest figures showed Scotland's drug deaths spiked by 11%, John Swinney said his government was in favour of decriminalisation - meaning people would not face criminal punishment for personal drug use.

He said the move could be part of a range of measures which would offer "more control and ability to provide greater support to those affected by drugs use".

In an interview with BBC Scotland News, Burnham said he would not be pursuing the policy, but accepted there were different views on the issue.

The UK government, which controls drugs policy, would have to agree to decriminalisation for it to be rolled out in Scotland.

"I know John, I respect him, I know he will hold his view for good reasons so I'm not going to go there," said Burnham.

"But I looked at these issues as Mayor of Greater Manchester - I couldn't support that approach then.

"I don't think we should send a confusing message to young people, I think we should be clear about the harm of drugs and that's the position I take."

The Scottish government, under the leadership of Humza Yousaf, announced in 2023 that it supported decriminalising personal drug use.

But the Conservative UK government rejected the plan as dangerous.

The SNP included the policy in its 2024 manifesto, with the party pointing to the example of Portugal, which relaxed drugs laws in 2001, as a potential model.

Swinney said his administration's current approach was "testing to the limits what we can do in Scotland".

This has included setting up the UK's first safer consumption facility in Glasgow - which allows drug users to inject heroin or cocaine while under medical supervision.

Ministers have also announced that the country's first drugs-checking facility will soon open in the city.

The Scottish Parliament has been divided by the issue, with the SNP, Scottish Greens and Lib Dems calling for more "harm reduction measures" like safer injection sites.

Meanwhile the Scottish Conservatives and Reform have decried "state-sponsored drug taking", calling for the Thistle facility to be shut down in favour of more rehab beds.

The Scottish government's drugs minister, Maree Todd, said the Scottish government was taking a public health approach to drugs, which would reduce harm and save lives.

She said it would allow people found in possession of drugs to be treated and supported rather than criminalised and excluded.

Todd continued: "Evidence also suggests it can help remove barriers to people accessing support and treatment. We are equally clear that strong support, treatment and harm reduction services are also essential.

"We continue to widen access to naloxone treatment and residential rehabilitation."

More than 11,000 drug-related deaths have been recorded in Scotland over the past decade.

The crisis has been worsened by the emergence of dealers mixing powerful synthetic opioids with heroin, cocaine and other dangerous drugs.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) said last year's increase was driven by a rise in fatalities among males, with drug-related deaths in the most deprived areas 15 times as high as in the least deprived areas.

The most recent comparable data from 2024 shows that Scotland had an age-adjusted death rate of 216 per million compared with 91 for England, 140 for Wales and 135 for Northern Ireland.