Drugs court hailed as success

Scotland’s first drug court has been hailed a success by
ministers following its first six months in operation.

Deputy justice minister Richard Simpson said the Glasgow court
had nearly doubled the amount of drug treatment and testing orders,
and praised the team set up to oversee the court.

The drug court began in November last year and so far more than
60 cases have been heard and 33 DTTOs have been imposed. The court
hopes to hear around 150 cases a year.

Simpson said: “It is encouraging to see the early results from
the Glasgow drug court. The potential success this unique course of
justice can deliver can have a dramatic impact on reducing crime in
the city as well as diverting suitable cases from custody to
rehabilitation with the aim of breaking the cycle of crime and drug
dependency.”

The Scottish executive report on drug prevalence estimated there
were 13,788 problematic drug users in Glasgow.