PRIME Minister Theresa May has been invited to personally intervene in Scotland’s drug-death crisis before she leaves office next week by grasping the opportunity to leave a “meaningful political legacy”.

Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, is asking the outgoing PM to grant the necessary legal exemption so that a Supervised Drug Consumption Facility (SDCF) can be set up in the city as a matter of urgency as a key part of an action plan aimed at reducing a mounting death toll among addicts.

The Home Office, which retains overall responsibility for drug policy across the UK, has stubbornly refused to allow a SDCF to be piloted in Glasgow since plans were first proposed in 2016.

Without a change in the law, anyone attending the facility and the medical staff working there would be liable to prosecution under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.

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In her letter to the PM, Thewliss writes: “It is clear to me and many others, across parties, that the war on drugs was lost some time ago.

‘‘We must look to alternative methods to tackle this growing problem and a SDCF would, at the very least, reduce the risk of people dying.

Scotland has a plan to tackle this emergency and I appeal to you to help us save as many lives as possible.”

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Yesterday, Thewliss told the Sunday National: “The drug death figures are truly tragic, and the stark increase in fatalities from 2017 to 2018 has to be a wake-up call for the UK Government.

“Theresa May has a real opportunity to help us save lives that are being needlessly lost, and all it requires is a simple Statutory Instrument to be laid before the House rises next week, in order that a facility can progress.

“I’ve heard countless times from UK Government ministers that there is no legislative framework to allow for a SDCF. This is complete nonsense, it’s their responsibility alone to create this framework.

“The Lord Advocate was clear when giving evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee earlier this month that there are wide powers in the legislation for the Secretary of State to make exceptions by regulation. It’s been done before, and it must now be done urgently to help tackle this crisis.

“The Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (GHSCP) has a plan to tackle drug addiction. The implementation of a SDCF is a significant part of the picture.”