Cannabis users to be given on-the-spot warnings to free up police time

The change in enforcing drug laws is part of a major overhaul of how officers handle petty offending to free up police and prosecutors’ time
The Herald (Scotland)
Thursday, December 10, 2015

People caught with small quantities of cannabis will face on-the-spot warnings from police rather than prosecution. Scottish officers will next month start issuing new "Recorded Police Warnings" to many of the tens of thousands of people a year found committing minor offences such as carrying cannabis. Senior police sources stress they are looking for a "proportionate" and "effective" disposal to the kind of offences that until now would either result in a fixed-penalty notice or a report to the Crown Office that ended either in no proceedings or a fiscal warning.