Scotland wants to decriminalize drugs. The UK government just says no

LONDON (AP) — The Scottish government has proposed decriminalizing possession of all drugs for personal use to tackle one of Europe’s highest overdose death rates.

The suggestion was almost instantly blocked by the Conservative U.K. government in London, which said it had “no plans” to soften drug laws.

The semi-autonomous Edinburgh government, led by the pro-independence Scottish National Party, said Friday that removing criminal penalties for drug possession would “allow for the provision of safe, evidence-based harm reduction services.”

Scotland’s death rate from drug overdoses is three times the rate in the U.K. as a whole and the highest in Western Europe. Last year there were almost 1,100 drug-related deaths in Scotland, which has a population of 5.5 million, according to government figures.