After a string of lethal overdoses in Scottish prisons, one doctor says giving cannabis to prison inmates could prevent deaths going forward. A part of the United Kingdom, Scotland is wrestling with its own failed drug war. The symptoms of this failure are familiar. A thriving illegal market, massive resources devoted to enforcement and incarceration and steadily increasing drug-related harm and death.
Prisoners Are “Condemned To Death” Due To Cannabis Prohibition, Expert Says
UK law completely forbids the possession, use and sale of cannabis within its borders. Even medical marijuana is illegal (as it is under federal law in the United States).
Yet the punitive approach isn’t producing results, argues pharmacologist Dr. Stephanie Sharp. Sharp argues that full legalization is the only way to prevent drug-related deaths.
In particular, the doctor says giving cannabis to prison inmates could prevent deaths from the “zombie drug” Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid.
In 2016, Scotland saw nearly a thousand deaths from drug use. Many argue that fifty years of prohibition has spread harm. There are now more than 380,000 Scots suffering from drug abuse and addiction, according to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.
As might be expected, the Scottish prison population is largely made up of non-violent drug offenders. And the majority of those are cannabis crimes.
In 2014, cannabis offenses accounted for 67 percent of all police recorded drug violations in the UK.
Responding with punishment instead of treatment has further led to a rash of drug-related deaths inside prisons themselves. Both correctional officers and inmates have died from using dangerous, synthetic drugs.
And that’s why Dr. Stephanie Sharp wants to get cannabis to inmates behind bars. Failure to do so, Sharp says, amounts