Is it still illegal to possess drugs in Scotland?

The opening of the UK’s first drug consumption room in Glasgow has polarised opinion and led to some confusion around the law in Scotland.

Located in the city’s east end, the facility will allow people to inject substances under medical supervision without fear of being arrested.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, has expressed concern about how the consumption room will be policed.

“Officers will still have to abide by the laws that are in place under the Misuse of Drugs Act,” David Kennedy, the body’s general secretary, said.

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation. STV News

“There will be pressure on them not to search individuals who may be carrying illegal drugs.

“I expect officers will go and search people who are attending or approaching Hunter Street to see if they are in possession of drugs.

“The concern is that if they don’t do that and somebody goes in, injects, and then dies, if there’s been police contact at any point, then that officer would come under serious criticism.”

Possession of drugs inside will remain a criminal offence but the Scottish Government’s chief lawyer Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain said it would not be in the public interest to prosecute users for possession offences committed within the facility.

“The law hasn’t changed,” said Mr Kennedy.

“It’s not like at New Year when they take the alcohol ban and say for this period of time you will be able to legally consume alcohol on the street – that isn’t happening here for the consumption room.

“That will cause concern for police officers who are just trying to do their job.

“Within the consumption room, there will be restrictions there but if something happens they will have the power of search.

“People won’t be charged but a report will go into the procurator fiscal, who will then decide.

“Officers won’t know until they search somebody what drug they are in possession of and they’ll then report them or charge them as they see fit.

“It’s ultimately down to the procurator fiscal whether somebody is taken to court on the matter.”

Mr Kennedy also raised concerns on behalf of the local community, including residents of nearby newly built housing estates.

“For the community at large, you have to ask what do they want, as this is being imposed on them,” he said.

In 2021, Ms Bain implemented an extension of recorded police warning guidelines to incorporate people found in possession of Class A drugs for personal use.

That means they can now be issued with a recorded police warning instead of facing automatic prosecution.

She said the move does not amount to decriminalisation for the possession of Class A drugs, which include crack cocaine, cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), heroin, LSD, magic mushrooms, methadone and methamphetamine (crystal meth).

The recorded police warning scheme enables officers to deal with a wide range of low level offences by issuing a warning on the spot or retrospectively, in the form of a notice.

The guidelines previously permitted the police to issue such warnings for possession of Class B and C drugs.

Last year, the Scottish Government called for the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use. Elena Whitham, then drugs policy minister, called for a public health approach to tackling the drugs crisis.

She said decriminalisation would mean people found in possession of drugs were “treated and supported rather than criminalised and excluded”.

Drug laws are currently reserved to Westminster and the UK Government says it will not interfere with the independence of the Lord Advocate in respect to the drug consumption room in Glasgow.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “This government has no plans to introduce consumption rooms.

“We will also continue to take preventative public health measures to tackle the biggest killers in our society, including drug misuse, and better support people to live longer, healthier lives.”