The drugs court sits at Glasgow Sheriff Court

Scotland's drugs court is to be tested on a larger scale when the first stage of the pilot ends next month.

The trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court will be extended to spring 2005. This will allow it to handle referrals from all stages of the judicial process.

The drugs court began work in November 2001 and deals with drug-using petty offenders, removing them from the mainstream court system.

It aims to break the cycle of addiction and criminality caused by drugs.

A study into its first year of operation said it was helping persistent offenders to deal effectively with their problems. Only one order was breached in the first six months of the project.

Once cases ahve been assessed by lawyers, social workers and a sheriff, the offender is placed on a Drug Testing and Treatment Order.

The offender returns to court regularly over a three-year period where progress is reviewed.

At present, only custody court cases are sent to the drugs court, which can deal with between 150 and 200 orders per year. In 19 months, 130 orders have been imposed.

Reconviction study

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said early results were "encouraging" with addicts entering treatment programmes and being closely monitored.

"By extending the referral routes into the drugs court pilot, more offenders can be dealt with," she went on.

"The independent evaulation of the pilot is also being extended to take account of these changes and will report at the same time as the reconviction study which has already been commissioned.

"The Glasgow drugs court is not of course our only response to the problem of drug-related crime but today's announcement will ensure it remains an important element in our overall drugs strategy."