Prisons
Many people in Scotland’s prisons are repeat offenders and many also have substance use problems

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

1. Further work is needed to ensure holistic support is provided for people with multiple complex needs, including exploring the reintroduction of throughcare support officers. The Taskforce asks that options for sustainably funding a reinstated throughcare service are explored. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

2. Scottish Government should work with the Scottish Prison Service to end Friday liberations from custody, implementing a blanket policy of no liberations on a Friday or in advance of a public holiday. It should also explore ways to support individuals released directly from custody. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

3. Further exploration of alternatives to remand and imprisonment should be considered, including bail supervision and residential rehabilitation. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

Pill Presses
The production of illicit pills, including atypical benzodiazepines, cause significant harm

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

4. Progress is required to ensure the regulation of pill presses, including a suitable licensing system to reduce related harm. 

UK Government

Medium

Tolerance Zones

Practical policing decisions, such as physical patrols can significantly influence people’s perceptions and decisions about drug use and service engagement.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

5. The possibility of tolerance zones should be explored where police agree not to make active patrols or use stop-and-frisk powers in the vicinity of certain services. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Long

Recorded Police Warnings

The Lord Advocate issues Guidelines to the police in relation to the operation of the scheme and in particular which offences may be considered as eligible for a Recorded Police Warning.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

6. The Drug Deaths Taskforce would support consideration of the extension of Recorded Police Warnings in relation to drug possession offences to cover all classifications of drugs and concludes that there would be value in work by the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and COPFS to increase understanding of the scheme. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Short

Drug Testing and Treatment Orders

People subject to a Drug Testing and Treatment Order may engage relatively well with support but may still test positive for illicit substances.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

7. Scottish Government should review DTTOs to assess how they have been used, their outcomes and whether they are the most effective mechanism to support an individual’s recovery and reduce recidivism rates.  

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

8. Scottish Government should also work with the Judicial Institute to improve understanding of how to best support an individual’s recovery journey.

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

Diversion from Prosecution

If successful, diversion avoids a person receiving a criminal sanction, and could provide a route to targeted person-centred support if sufficient resources are made available.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

9. Scottish Government should work with partners to ensure that all people have access to well resourced, high quality services following diversion, taking a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to support. Increased funding should be provided to support this. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

10. Training should be given to ensure that those who work in this area understand the challenges of engagement for people with dependency issues and give individuals multiple opportunities for recovery. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

Navigators and Peer Support

The wider literature points to the significance of peer support in strengthening connections to communities and highlights the importance of human connections.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

11. The Drug Deaths Taskforce will continue to explore the use of navigators and peer support workers and make a recommendation on the best model for a national navigator service. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

12. In the interim, the national expansion of the MAV hospital navigator programme should be pursued, taking a particular interest in substance use. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Short

Safer Drug Consumption Facilities

The evidence shows that these facilities are known to prevent overdose deaths, lead to safer drug use practices and promote engagement with wider services.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

13. The Taskforce supports the introduction of safer consumption facilities in Scotland. The UK Government should consider a change to the legislative framework to support their introduction. 

UK Government

Medium

14. In the interim, the Scottish Government should explore all options within the existing legal framework to support the delivery of safer consumption facilities. The Scottish Government should also take steps to increase public understanding of such facilities. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Short

Heroin Assisted Treatment

Prescribing heroin is legal and operational in Glasgow but this needs to be expanded.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

15. The Taskforce supports the devolution of licensing for HAT premises to allow the single-office co-ordination of premises and prescriber licensing and the Scottish Government should support and promote a national roll out for HAT.

UK Government/

Scottish

Government

Medium

Drug Checking Facilities

More should be done to make these facilities widely available to those working with people who use drugs and address challenges with accessing licensing for these services.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

16. Licensing of drug checking facilities should be reviewed to ensure that the licensing of drug checking services is open, transparent and accessible, and in line with a health based approach. 

UK Government/

Scottish

Government

Medium

17. The Scottish Government should support drug testing nationally and work with local services to ensure it is available.

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

Drug Paraphernalia

Drug treatment services including Injecting Equipment Provision should be allowed to supply all items necessary for safe injecting and related drugs paraphernalia.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

18. The UK Government should amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2000 to allow for the legal provision of a wider range of drug paraphernalia through harm reduction and treatment services, to enable safer drug consumption. 

UK Government

Medium

19. In the interim, the Scottish Government should explore all options to support this provision.

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Short

Naloxone

Scotland has led the way in developing local and national naloxone supply schemes that have made a significant contribution to reducing harm.   

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

20. The UK Government should support permanent reclassification of naloxone to make it easier to provide supply. 

UK Government

Medium

21. In the absence of a full reclassification, the Scottish

Government should work closely with the UK Government to ensure that the changes planned reflect the breadth of the existing statement of prosecution policy in Scotland. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners/ UK

Government

Medium

22. In the interim, the Scottish Government should also engage with the Lord Advocate in relation to the extension of the current statement of prosecution advice. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Short

Families

Engagement from the family members is welcome and we will continue to learn as its work reflect strongly the direction and ambition of the Taskforce.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

23. Justice partners should support the adoption of the Stigma Strategy, trauma informed and family inclusive practice and the adoption of distress based interventions. 

Scottish

Government and

Partners

Medium

Dispensing and Prescription Forms

There are concerns over the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 lack of flexibility and the impact on patient care and additional burdens for prescribers.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

24. The Taskforce supports prescribers call for a review of the regulations on dispensing and prescription forms to take account of clinical and technological advances since implementation in 2001. 

UK Government

Long

Supply Disruption for Controlled Drugs

It was highlighted that temporary measures had been introduced to ensure continuity of treatment if supplies are disrupted.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

25. The UK Government should extend the temporary COVID19 measures put in place to support the resilience of medicine supplies and treatment continuity to cover a wide range of public health and other emergencies. 

UK Government

Short

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010, in keeping with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, excludes those identified as drug and alcohol ‘addicted’ from the scope of provisions prohibiting discrimination against disabled people.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

26. A transparent review is needed of the exemption set out in S3.1 of the Equality Act 2010, (Disability) Regulations 2010 to explore the impact of this exemption and whether it best serves people suffering from addiction, what the implications of removing it and making addiction a protected characteristic would be. 

UK Government

Medium

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is incompatible with a public health response to problematic drug use.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

27. A root and branch review of the Misuse of Drugs Act is needed, taking a public health approach, and reforming the law to support harm reduction measures. 

UK Government

Long

28. If the UK Government are not willing to reform the Misuse of Drugs Act, it should commit to exploring all available options openly with the Scottish Government to enable Scotland to take a public health approach. 

UK Government/

Scottish

Government

Medium

29. Meanwhile the Scottish Government should do more to maximise flexibility under the current legislation. 

Scottish

Government

Short

Further Engagement

This engagement exercise is the first phase of two phased Drug Law Reform review.

Lead

Organisations

Timescale

30. Further consultation should be undertaken in the second phase of the engagement exercise, exploring: 

•       The public’s perceptions of drug policy and opinions on what our guiding principles should be when developing policy and legislation. 

•       People’s thoughts on relaxing the laws around drug possession offences, such as decriminalisation or legalisation and regulation. 

•       Gauging public support for the harm reduction measures currently restricted by the Misuse of Drugs Act or related regulations. 

•       User engagement to understand how the law impacts people’s willingness to access services.

Scottish

Government

Long