Professor John Robertson OBA
Robert F Kennedy Jnr has at least had the intelligence to change his mind on measles vaccination but Sarwar Jr shows little sign of learning on drug abuse and regulation as he pursues populist, street-corner, theories in a vain attempt to undermine the SNP Conference and to come second in the 2026 Scottish election.
In the Daily Record yesterday as the SNP Conference begins:
Anas Sarwar says he does not support drug decriminalisation for personal use: The Scottish Labour leader said communities do not back “making it easier for people to get drugs and take drugs” The Glasgow MSP said he is opposed to “making it easier” for people to get and take illegal substances. SNP Ministers have pushed ahead with a so-called harm reduction approach to drugs in recent years. They have given the green light to safe consumption rooms for users and led calls for decriminalisation in a bid to drive down the country’s drug death emergency. Sarwar, who blasted the SNP Government this week over drug dealers walking free over court delays, has come out against this approach. At an event in Penicuik, he was asked by the Record if he supports the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use.
No actual evidence in the article by Paul Hutcheon is offered. All we have is a political leader formulating his policies on the basis of what tabloid newspapers think is public opinion.
Here’s a far more important question for the Record and for Sarwar:
Does the research evidence support drug decriminalization for personal use in Scotland?
The answer, based on repeated studies by academic researchers published in peer-review journals is a clear and unambiguous ‘Yes.’
A report in 2012, A quiet revolution: drug decriminalisation policies in practice across the globe, which studied 20 countries that had deregulated drug use for personal use, concluded:
The main aim of the report was to look at the existing research to establish whether the adoption of a decriminalised policy led to significant increases in drug use – the simple answer is that it did not. This then begs the question that if the model of enforcement adopted has little impact on levels of use what is the point in pursuing a criminal justice approach which carries significant harms for individuals?1
A large EU study, in 2013 of 15,191 ‘adolescents‘ aged 15-24 across European countries, National-level drug policy and young people’s illicit drug use: a multilevel analysis of the European Union, found that eliminating punishments for personal possession was associated with 79% lower odds of recent drug use.2
A research review in 2020 of 114 European and North American studies, Impact evaluations of drug decriminalisation and legal regulation on drug use, health and social harms: a systematic review, found that regardless of the substance, deregulation had no effect on levels of abuse.3
Finally, the Scottish Parliament already knows all of this. From New approach needed to tackle drugs deaths, say MPs in 2019:
A report from the UK parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee recommends the decriminalisation of small amounts of drugs for personal use and the introduction of legislation to allow the establishment of safe consumption facilities where users can inject drugs under medical supervision. It comes just two weeks after the parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee called for similar radical change in response to what it described as a “public health emergency.” 4
What are the harms suggested above?
This approach imposes multifaceted harms, substantiated by research from bodies like the Transform Drug Policy Foundation and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD):
- Health Deterrence: Fear of prosecution discourages users from seeking help; a 2022 Lancet study linked UK criminalization to higher overdose rates (e.g., 5,000+ deaths in 2022) due to unsafe sourcing and stigma. Criminal records bar access to jobs, housing, and treatment, exacerbating mental health issues—up to 50% of drug users have co-occurring disorders per NHS data.
- Social and Economic Impacts: A criminal record correlates with 40% lower employment rates (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2021), perpetuating poverty cycles. Ethnic disparities are stark: Black individuals are 3-4 times more likely to be stopped for possession (StopWatch, 2023).
- Ineffectiveness and Opportunity Costs: Despite £3 billion annual enforcement spending, drug use prevalence remains stable (around 10% of adults per Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2023). Critics argue this diverts resources from evidence-based interventions, like Scotland’s supervised consumption sites, which reduce harms without increasing use.
There was a time when a Labour leader might know of this and base his views upon it.
Finally, Sarwar is not just wrong on the science, he’s wrong on what’s in his own interest. A YouGov poll in 2022, on public attitudes to drugs policy, in the Scottish subset of the data, revealed that, on possession of ‘soft drugs’ , 42% thought it should be legalised and 32% thought it should be treated as a minor offence (just a warning). Only 22% were opposed to that.5
Sources:
- https://elicit.com/find-papers/4b38f0da-79d3-436d-a457-1d1990dcd5e1/source/020343244afe4a1b8b4571c38d99e3d0
- https://elicit.com/find-papers/4b38f0da-79d3-436d-a457-1d1990dcd5e1/source/d84627fbda2145b695fb007c6dbdf097
- https://elicit.com/find-papers/4b38f0da-79d3-436d-a457-1d1990dcd5e1/source/eea1f688e965449b939bc286aa8ed1b8
- https://elicit.com/find-papers/4b38f0da-79d3-436d-a457-1d1990dcd5e1/source/a014b63491474ff2bb6db6805c25db85
- https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/40291-yougov-big-survey-drugs-should-possessing-or-selli?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fsociety%2Farticles-reports%2F2022%2F01%2F24%2Fyougov-big-survey-drugs-should-possessing-or-selli
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Sarwar jr. is opposed in principle to …whatever policy the SNP is in favour of …. that is , until his boss tells him otherwise !
It is this acute political nous which has ensured that Sarwar has effortlessly brought his party to a distant third in the Scottish polls .
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The Bain principle….a Labour party…….”British value”.
Sarwar yet again fighting yet another election to see if his party can be the official opposition and not yet again a poor third….or maybe even a worse position than third as a party within Holyrood…….while they are seeking out political campaign donations from the wealthy donors…with a labour pledge to keep Scotland British.
The DR and Paul Hutcheon still trying to convince us that Labour are the party for change, for a new direction and for renewal while the public in Scotland, via a huge amount of evidence, now sees that the opposite is clearly the case.
Labour for a continuation of Tory policies , the totally wrong direction for Scotland and also a decline within Scotland because Labour HQ, as the new UK government, is excessive in their favouring ‘other’ parts of their UK (England) over Scotland for government investments and government projects………(same thing happened with the previous lot …the Tories).
Sarwar of the British Labour party will always adopt an ‘opposing’ opinion and a ‘opposing’ position to the SNP as he is a member of an ‘opposition’ party , where he, Sarwar, is the current branch office manager in Scotland for Labour HQ, while he is pretending to be the actual opposition leader in Scotland (however we all know that role is reserved (no pun intended) for the Labour HQ’s real leader of the Labour party , which is currently, Sir “British values” Keir Starmer).
Sarwar says ?
Take that with a pinch of salt……..
Labour are now infamous for their many many many U-turns as a party and too as a British government, also infamous in Scotland for their breaking former pledges (Grangemouth Refinery being one of many examples).
As basically when Labour are not in power, then Labour promise the earth and then when Labour do achieve power they then deliver us all , via their Labour government , a Labour version of Hell aka duck all of any benefit or consequence is achieved or felt by any of us as ordinary so called ‘British’ people under a British Labour government………..
Which BTW , as a situation, will also happen if they, Labour here in Scotland, were ever elected as a Scottish government….(under the directive of Labour HQ of course).
Since Sarwar and his party often tell the SNP to “Shut up” about independence then it is only fair that we too, and the SNP as well, are then also ‘allowed’ to tell him, Sarwar, and his party (and the DR too) to now “Shut up” about their UK and their non so called Union…….as now we are all really sick of their S*** UK and their so obvious non Union…..that always fails to serve Scotland well (in the past, the present and also in the future too , I am sure).
Union of Nations – “A union of nations is a political or economic entity formed when independent states or nations join together for a common purpose , such as a unified government or shared economic goals”.
That’s not the supposed ‘Union’ that exists in their UK.
Liz S
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In a medium sized country like Scotland not far away there is a ‘Labour Party’ in opposition that takes a different view from the socially conservative Mr Sarwar. This is the Labour Party of Ireland.
Source: https://labour.ie/policy/decrim/
‘Labour believes in a system in decriminalisation and taking a health led approach. It’s time to take problem drug use out of the courts and wrap supports around people who need help. Criminalising, shaming and stigmatising people in addiction leads to a system that undermines and dehumanises people who need our support, care and compassion. It’s time to change it.
‘Decriminalising would mean: Community based harm reduction services; addressing disease transmission and overdoses; introducing supervised injection facilities; a commitment to a client centred and evidence based recovery programmes.’
Decriminalising does not mean the same as legalising!
And in the UK, there has been a longstanding disagreement within the British Labour Party over reform of drugs-related legislation (see https://labourlist.org/search/Drugs/ ) So far the socially conservatives like Anas Sarwar have won the day.
From Labour List August 8, 2022: ‘A public health-based approach to drugs must be the guiding principle for Labour’.
‘Drug deaths have almost doubled since the Conservative government took office in 2010, with treatment for funding cut by up to 40% in some areas and the number of people accessing treatment services vastly reduced due to both a lack of capacity, and a lack of will to address the problem from a government more concerned with headlines than saving lives. These tragic figures starkly illustrate the extent of the emergency that we now face, the crucial role that inequality plays in problematic substance use and the urgent need for reform to our counterproductive drug laws.’
And: ‘Evidence and compassion must be the basis of drug policy-making, not focus groups. Prohibition and criminalisation have failed, and at huge human and financial cost. The Tories authoritarian turn on drugs, along with the ever-increasing severity of the situation demands a clear plan of transformative action from Labour, and a bold rhetorical case accompanying it that doesn’t apologise for not winning a ‘war on drugs’ but makes the case for ending it.’
The author, Jay Jackson, who is involved with a ‘Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform‘ must be hugely disappointed – show me the ‘progressives’ who are not – with the new Labour Government in Westminster. And Mr Sarwar appears to be confirming that the branch operation of the British Labour Party in Scotland has morphed into – has fallen into lock step with – what is more accurately termed the Labour in Name Only Party (LINO) in England!
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