ALL debate is good. So, we welcome calls today for an informed discussion in this country around drugs. We know the absurdly titled 'war on drugs' has failed miserably - criminalising ordinary men, women and children for recreational use of drugs such as cannabis. We also know that Scotland sees itself as a progressive, intelligent country.

Progressive, intelligent countries are not afraid to debate difficult issues. This is not about campaigning for decriminalisation. This is about Scotland debating how best to deal with a very real drug problem and making an informed choice about how to proceed.

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SCOTLAND must start the debate on decriminalising drugs, campaigners, MSPs and former government advisers have said.

The call follows an announcement by the Irish government that it plans a "radical culture shift" which will see possession of drugs decriminalised in ordered to focus on offering helping to addicts and users rather than punishing them with criminal convictions and prison.

As the call came, the Scottish Government also told the Sunday Herald that it was reaffirming its wish for Holyrood to take responsibility over drug laws, which are currently reserved to Westminster.

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Marijuana Legalisation Will Help Poor 'Supply' Nations

An absurd status quo has held sway in Mexico, ever since the United States began to legalise marijuana, for medical, and, more recently, recreational use. The nation - encouraged by Washington - has some of the strictest drug laws in Latin America. But the vast majority of the marijuana it produces ends up in the US. So Mexican law enforcement officials - complying with the demands of their American counterparts - have been expending massive resources on preventing the growth and trafficking of a drug that is often, by the time it ends up being smoked within US borders, entirely legal.

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The UN wants its members to decriminalise drugs, and Sir Richard Branson thinks that is just great. Well, it is not quite like that; as so often, the story is more nuanced than the headline. The paper Sir Richard leaked, which urges "decriminalising drug use and possession for personal consumption", was drawn up for a conference in Kuala Lumpur on harm reduction by Dr Monica Beg, an official at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. It has since been withdrawn and, as you can gather from the outcry, it is certainly a "third-rail issue" you touch it at your peril.

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'We Should Treat Drug Use As a Health Issue'

A United Nations body plans to urge governments around the world to decriminalise possession of drugs for personal use, tycoon Richard Branson said last night.

The Virgin entrepreneur said that in an as-yet unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, himself and others, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for decriminalisation of drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs.

He added in an article on his blog: "This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalisation of millions of drug users around the world.

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The entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has been involved in a clash with the United Nations over his claim that the organisation was poised to endorse a global policy of decriminalising drugs.

Branson, a member of the Global Commission on Drugs Policy, claimed on his personal blog on the Virgin website yesterday that the UN's Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has been a bastion of the "war on drugs", was poised to publish a statement endorsing the decriminalisation of the personal possession and use of drugs.

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'Decriminalise the Possession and Use of All Substances'

United Nations officials have called for the possession and use of all drugs to be decriminalised by governments, in a private report hailed as a "turning-point in drug policy reform".

But the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) immediately distanced itself from the controversial conclusions, which were leaked by the Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, and insisted they did not represent the UN's official position.

The briefing paper argues that criminalising drug use increases death rates among addicts and has led to the jailing of millions of people for non-violent offences.

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Legalising cannabis would raise taxes worth hundreds of millions of pounds and produce large savings for the criminal justice system, a private analysis for the Treasury has concluded.

It judged that regulating cannabis, which was used by more than two million people in the UK last year, could generate "notable tax revenue" and "lead to overall savings to public services".

The Treasury study, seen by The Independent, was commissioned by the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ahead of the general election to help formulate Liberal Democrat drugs policy if the party remained in office.

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The Liberal Democrats are to set up an expert panel to establish how a legal market for cannabis could work in Britain, paving the way for them to become the first major political party in the UK to back its legalisation.

The move is backed the party's health spokesman, Norman Lamb, and by a former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Brian Paddick. It is in line with a 2014 party conference resolution that called for a review of the effectiveness of a regulated market in relation to health and reduced criminal activity.

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Former Lib Dem Leader Hopes to Build Support for New Approach at 2016 UN Meeting

Nick Clegg launches a campaign today to persuade EU leaders to back global reform of drugs laws, warning that the current punitive approach has failed to curb the multibillion trade in illicit substances and has criminalised millions of young people.

Writing in The Independent, the former Deputy Prime Minister says: "We are, without doubt, losing the war on drugs." Mr Clegg is to urge European leaders to make the case for a new global approach to drug abuse at a United Nations meeting next year. Many of them have switched tactics in recent years, tackling it as a health issue rather than a law and order problem.

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We are losing the war on drugs. But there are reasons to be hopeful. In recent years, a global movement for reform has been building. Led in particular by the governments of countries in Latin America that have suffered most, politicians and policymakers around the globe have started to question the status quo.

This isn't a headlong rush to legalisation, but a patient, rational debate about alternative approaches which might reduce overall harm. In the United States, zero tolerance and mass imprisonment has given way to a willingness to allow states to experiment with alternative regulatory models as Colorado, Washington, Oregon and others are doing with cannabis - and a growing disquiet at the injustice and social impacts of imprisoning hundreds of thousands of young, mainly black, men for drug offences.

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The three young men climbing into the pickup close to the Oregon border cheerfully acknowledged they were about to break federal law. Anthony, Daniel and Chris had just bustled out of a marijuana shop in Vancouver, Washington, clutching bags of marijuana as they headed home a short drive over the bridge to Portland, Oregon.

Crossing state lines with drugs is a federal offence not that it has discouraged the steady stream of customers from Portland taking advantage of Washington's legalisation of recreational marijuana sales last year. As of yesterday, Oregon joined Washington and Colorado to become the third US state to permit the sale for anyone over 21. "I've been coming across since they legalised it here," said Anthony. "But it'll be closer and it's going to be much cheaper in Portland. And I won't haveh to cross the bridge. Not that I've ever seen the cops lining up to catch us." The open sale of recreational mar marijuana has come more swiftly to Portland than many expected. Legalisation was only approved in a ballot measure last November whereas Washington state took 18 months to open its first shops.

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In "Romeo and Juliet," the lovelorn hero proclaims that "Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs."

The line may have actually been inspired by the fumes of cannabis, according to a recently published paper on William Shakespeare and his smoking habits.

The report, which cites a 2001 analysis of early 17th-century pipes from Stratford-upon-Avon and the Bard's own residence, argues that Shakespeare could have smoked the substance and was probably well aware of its hallucinatory effects.

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SIR Your article on the inherent dangers of legalising cannabis is a timely warning (Features, August 1).

The groups lobbying for this drug to be decriminalised say that this may reduce usage. In the past they have also pointed out that the costs of nicotine and alcohol addiction to the NHS are much greater than those of cannabis although if the drug were legalised, the costs would presumably rise.

But there is a fundamental reason why such legislation should not occur. Many people previously addicted to nicotine or alcohol can make a full recovery by abstaining; that is not always the case with other drugs.

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As thousands urge decriminalisation of the drug, the mother of one former addict recalls the trauma her family went through

'If you think your children will be safe from drugs outside the state system, think again' 'We began to sleep with our cash under our pillows and locked away anything that could be sold'

Ihave spent more time arguing about the legalisation of cannabis than most; more than anyone would ever want to. It seems I have to continue. Last Saturday, a petition to legalise cannabis amassed the 100,000 signatures it needs to ensure the Government consider it for a parliamentary debate. Since then, numbers have climbed further past 150,000. In the same week, Dorset, Derbyshire and Surrey police have signalled they plan to follow Durham's lead in turning a blind eye to smallscale cannabis farmers and smokers.

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Demonstrators have protested against Government drug policy by staging a mass inhalation of so-called "hippy crack" in the shadow of Parliament.

Dozens sat in Parliament Square in Westminster where they filled balloons with nitrous oxide and breathed in "laughing gas " . Many of the protesters erupted into giggles before spreading out across the lawn.

The Government plans to introduce a law to ban any mood-altering drugs or "legal highs".

Stephen Reid, founder of the Psychedelic Society, said: "People should be able to buy, sell and use whatever substances they want, so long as there's no harm to others."

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THREE more police forces have signalled that people who grow cannabis for their own consumption will not be targeted.

Earlier this month, Durham Constabulary stated it would only go after people using the drug if there was a complaint or if they were being "blatant".

Now police and crime commissioners (PPCs) in Derbyshire, Dorset and Surrey have indicated that those caught smoking or cultivating the drug on a small scale can expect little more than a caution.

The change in attitudes will be seen as a further step towards decriminalisation.

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The stench of hypocrisy has long hung over the drugs debate. Politicians joke about their own use, then talk tough about the dangers and the need to crack down on criminals. This could be heard again last week when the candidates for the Labour leadership were quizzed by a radio listener over cannabis. "I've had a few smokes when I was at college," replied Liz Kendall. "I did inhale... but that's never been my favourite form of relaxation."

Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper also admitted taking the odd toke during student days; only the austere Jeremy Corbyn had never tried cannabis. All three former users stressed these were youthful indiscretions as politicians always do. Yet they are in good company at Westminster: cabinet ministers have made similar confessions and even the Prime Minister admitted to smoking dope at school.

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At last, a sign that the UK is moving - albeit at a snail's pace - towards a realistic policy on drugs, one that is appropriate for the 21st century.

New figures show that more than a million people aged between 16 and 24 used cannabis in the past year. Now, those in the North-east who keep pot plants - the hallucinogenic kind rather than a Busy Lizzie - no longer fear a knock on their door and a trip to the police station.

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Senior police chief says prosecution is a waste of time and reveals his force is already turning a blind eye to domestic cultivation in defiance of the Home Office

If you smoke a joint in front of an officer, you'll still get nicked

The blanket criminal prosecution of all cannabis growers should be stopped, according to one of the country's most senior police officials, who revealed that his force is already bypassing Home Office guidelines.

In what may be seen as a major shift towards effective decriminalisation within law enforcement, Ron Hogg, the police and crime commissioner for Durham Constabulary, said his force's scarce resources were no longer being used against growers involved in small-scale cultivation of the class B drug.

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