Subj: Scotland: Tories aim to free Scotland of drugs within two decades



Date: 22 Apr, 1999



Source: Scotsman, The  (UK)









ubject: Tories aim to free Scotland of drugs within two decades

Author: Peter MacMahon



THE Tory pary yesterday said it wanted to create a "drugs-

free Scotland" within the next two decades.



The Scottish Conservatives' deputy leader, Annatel Goldie, 

set the target at a press conference in Glasgow yesterday at 

which her party reinforced its "zero tolerance" policy on 

drugs.



Miss Goldie, described by the Tories as the party's "drugs 

supremo", said that tackling the drugs plague in Scotland was 

one of the most urgent tasks facing the Scottish parliament.



She said that the Tories were committed to introducing 

minimum sentences for convicted drugs dealers, to overhaul 

the way the legal system deals with serious drug offences 

through fast-track prosecution; and not to allow bail for 

those changed with drug dealing.



Miss Goldie defended the Tory's support for the pre-

conviction confiscation of the assets of suspected drugs 

dealers, though she said that the Conservaives were not going 

against the legal principle that a person is innocent until 

proven guilty.



Miss Goldie added: "We take the view that if the balance of 

fairness has to be struck in favour of our law-abiding 

communities, of parents with children, then we feel we have 

to ensure that we have very stringent measures in place to 

tackle the evil of suppliers.



"We are absolutely unequivocal about what our objective is - 

a drugs free Scotland even if it takes ten or 20 years to 

achieve. We have to make a start in achieving that."



David McLetchie, the Tory leader, speaking at the same press 

conference said: "Innocent, honest people should have no 

problem in explaining where they acquire their assets from, 

none whatsoever."



Mr McLetchie used the press conference to launch an attack on 

Jim Wallace, the leader ofthe Scottish Liberal Democrats, who 

he accused of being "soft on drugs" after the Scottish 

Liberal Democrats' leader said he had an open mind on the 

issue of decriminalising cannabis.



The Tory leader said, 'I just think that it is sending the 

wrong message. The emphasis has to be on tackling drngs.



"People I have spoken to who work within this area say that 

cannabis is a progressive drug and people move on to taking 

more serious addictive drugs and I think you are sending 

exactly the wrong signal and you risk shattering the 

consensus that has been very carefully built up since we were 

in government."



However, Mr McLetchie's assertion was contradicted by a 

leading anti-drugs caanpaigner during a visit by the Tory 

team to the Calton Athletic drugs recovery group in Glasgow.



David Bryce, the group's director, told Mr McLetchie that in 

Holland after cannabis has been decriminalised the average 

age of heroine [sic] users was 35 whereas itwas 20 in 

Glasgow.



Mr Bryce said: "Young Dutch people do not make the move from 

cannabis to heroine [sic]. That's the figures. Out of all the 

drugs out there, cannabis is the least harmful compared to 

tobacco and alcohol."