The Scottish Government is aware of the serious problems that drugs cause in society. Appropriately, the problem is being tackled on a number of fronts.
On the enforcement side, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) has been set up. Launched on June 2000, this gave Scotland for the first time an enforcement agency dedicated to the investigation of drug trafficking and other serious organised crime.
The SDEA is a key component of the Executive's drugs strategy Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership.
A further component of the Executive's drug strategy, on the health and treatment side, is the Effective Interventions Unit (EIU), which was set up in June 2000 to support the implementation of the strategy.
On the justice front, various initiatives are being taken forward. A number of the alternatives to custody available to sentencers have a specific drug component, particularly the Drug Treatment and Testing Order, a new high tarriff order specifically targetted for drug misusing offenders. Two pilot drug courts have been established in Glasgow and Fife and have funding has been provided to pilot Arrest Referral schemes.