A Dundee man caught with less than £30 of street valium has escaped punishment after a sheriff ruled it would be a “waste” of public money to prosecute him further.
Police searched Michael Hamilton on Saturday night and found 28 Class C Etizolam tablets in his pockets.
The 29-year-old appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court and admitted a charge of possession.
Depute fiscal Carrie-Anne Mackenzie told the court Hamilton had been searched in relation to a separate matter.
There was no indication as to the value of the drug, but Sheriff George Way estimated each was usually about £1 on the street.
Admonishing Hamilton, the sheriff said: “I cannot think for a minute that prosecuting for 28 tablets is going to mean a great deal to people.
“I do not want to waste any more public money on this. He is admonished.”
Admonition – the lightest punishment under Scots law – is effectively a verbal warning for a minor infringement. The conviction is recorded.
Street valium
Dundee has one of the highest drug death rates in Scotland, making it one of the worst afflicted cities by drugs in the western world.
More than 1,000 deaths from drugs in Scotland have featured benzodiazepines, or Valium, since 2018.
It is understood many of the tablets are being imported in bulk from China.
Valium, or diazepam as it is also known, is a member of the benzodiazepine family of drugs.
However, the highly addictive sedative tablets commonly sold on the street are rarely diazepam, and are often other related benzodiazepine drugs, such as etizolam.
Etizolam mimics many of the effects of diazepam. It can be lethal if combined with opioids such as heroin.
The majority people who died of drug deaths in the city were found to have taken some type of benzodiazepine.
