MSPS PRESS FOR TRIALS OF 'DUTCH' DRUG CAFES

MINISTERS in the Scottish Parliament are being urged to let the country be
used as a testing ground for Dutch-style cannabis cafes. The plan was put
forward as the debate over legalising the drug intensifies. Angus MacKay,
the deputy Scottish Justice Minister, will meet Margo MacDonald, the
Scottish National Party MSP, today to discuss proposals to set up a
Scottish commission to look into the use of cannabis. Tommy Sheridan, the
Scottish Socialist Party leader, has called on MSPs to support a move at
Westminster calling for cannabis to be legalised for an experimental four
years. It follows a suggestion by The Daily Telegraph to legalise cannabis
for a trial period.

Mr Sheridan said that Dutch-style cannabis coffee shops would help to break
the connection with more dangerous drugs like heroin. The shops would take
the cannabis market out of housing estates and into regulated premises.
Donald Gorrie, a Liberal Democrat MSP, said: "The current system is failing
and I think there should be a more grown-up debate about it." The Scottish
Advisory on Drug Misuse is to report soon on an investigation into the drug
culture in Scotland. It will focus on harder drugs, such as heroin, and why
youngsters become involved.

Mr MacKay said that Westminster legislation would be required to introduce
drugs cafes in Scotland as it is a reserved issue.