[matthewmacleod]

Well, it's more complex than that.

In a country that has for many years only had a broadly two-party system, there was little effect to be had by voting for someone else. And given Glasgow's historical politics, that was always going to be the lefty party.

Things have changed, though. The devolved Scottish Parliament has now been in operation for 20 years; in Westminster, Glasgow North-East (which is the parliamentary constituency covering Springburn) was in 2015 one of the constituencies that saw its vote swing massively behind the pro-Scottish-independence party that was traditionally unpopular in UK-wide elections, though they narrowly lost that seat in the unexpected 2017 election.

And this is the reason it is important – drugs policy is reserved to the UK government, and there's a fair bit of chat about it now.

[_Understated_]

My issue with drug policy revolves around two key points: 1. The war on drugs is an utter failure (by that I mean, it hasn't halted drug use but there are likely those in power who benefit from this) 2. None of their policies tackles root causes, e.g. putting ex-drug users back into their old habitats will likely guarantee they'll just do it again.

I'm from Glasgow (Kirkintilloch), live in Ayrshire now, and I saw it first hand: I had two friends die of OD's years ago.

I only visit Glasgow city centre on occasion and each time I do it appears to get worse but I live near Irvine now and you can tell a mile away who's had their methodone so it's no better down here.

[daedalus_f]

While I don't think it’s a cure all, Portugal seems to have had significant improvements in drug related health problems (at least in the short term), crime and anti-social behavior after radical decriminalization in 2001. But sounding tough on drugs is too tempting for politicians, and most of the press screams at any sign of decriminalization.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radic...

[kuniva]

I always find that weird, people from places way far out claiming Glasgow. We never did that in Paisley, we always said Paisley. I'm almost sure I've heard people from Wishaw, and even Shotts claiming they're from Glasgow. Overspill identity crisis or what.