Scotland's police forces have been told they are failing to get drugs off the street.
Research by Professor Neil McKeganey and his colleagues at the Glasgow University Centre for Drug Misuse Research has found that just one per cent of the 11 tons of heroin consumed in the country every year is being seized by officers.
It is the first time experts have looked at the relationship between the amount of the drugs taken and the amount seized.
The report estimates 46,687 heroin users in Scotland are consuming 10.7 tons of the Class a drug. However police are recovering between just 0.45% and 1.6% per cent of the proscribed substance.
Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, said: “We need to work more smartly. Some of the techniques that we are developing now in terms of our profiling help us do that.
"We're determined to tackle the drug dealers head on, to be most impactive on their lives and how they interact in communities."
Critics have seized upon the findings to argue that the war on drugs is the wrong approach.
Neil Hunter, leader of Glasgow Addiction Services, said: ''We have been working with the police on how they can help us in terms of treatment care, delivery and how we can help them in terms of enforcement.
“I think we need to get away from the war on drugs and talk about balanced strategies that have maximum impact.
“I need to do my job in terms of reducing demand and the police will continue to do their job in terms of reducing supply.''
The news came on the day police in the North East raided the homes of suspected drug dealers in a 60-person operation.
