UK: Dealers who make their own drugs on rise

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Wendy Miller

Glasgow Evening Times

Friday 18 Nov 2005

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SCOTLAND'S drug criminals are increasingly growing or making their own
illegal substances, shock statistics have revealed.

Figures for drug convictions in 2001-04 show a sharp rise in cases of
home-made drugs, while smuggling from abroad has fallen.

Most of the crimes relate to home-grown cannabis, with recent figures from
the Independent Drugs Monitoring Unit showing 66% of all cannabis consumed
in the UK is cultivated at home.

There were 88 cases of illegally manufactured or cultivated drugs in
Strathclyde last year - up from 47 in 2000 and compared to just five cases
in Dumfries and Galloway and 47 in Lothian and Borders.

The figures were released by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson in a
parliamentary written answer to the SNP's Stewart Stevenson.

The statistics show only one recorded case of illegally imported drugs in
Strathclyde during 2004, one of only two across Scotland.

Mr Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, said: "The rise in the cultivation
of drugs is mostly due to more people growing cannabis.

"These figures confirm misuse of drugs is one of the most serious problems
in Scotland.

"The illegal drug trade in Scotland is worth UKP1billion a year. The way to
close it down is to target the drug barons."

In Scotland, 8% of the population are believed to be regular cannabis smokers.

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