down by Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat MSPs. In response to the bill's introduction and the publicity that it generated, the Scottish Executive announced a review of the impact that the charges had on the chronically sick and full-time studentsjust three hours prior to the bill being debated. Prescription charges were eventually abolished on 1 April 2011 through SNP legislation. Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Colin Fox to acknowledge the SSP's contribution in the campaign for abolishing prescription charges. The SSP has proposed the legalisation of cannabis and the licensing of premises to sell cannabis as a means of breaking the link between soft drugs and potentially lethal drugs such as heroin. It has also proposed the provision of synthetic heroin on NHS Scotland under medical supervision in order to undermine the black market for drugs and combat the social and health problems caused by illegal drug use in working-class communities, as well as calling for the expansion of residential rehabilitation and detoxification facilities for addicts seeking treatment. The party also supports the decriminalisation of drugs, instead advocating an evidence and healthcare led approach to the matter. National Care Service The SSP calls for a publicly owned and publicly funded National Care Service that would be free at the point of use (like the NHS). The party says this would help end what it describes as "poverty pay" for care workers, provide greater job security and would help provide a greater level of scrutiny for care homes to help avoid abuse and neglect and provide high quality care. The attention on the matter of care homes and their running grew in media attention during the COVID-19 pandemic with reports of 2,000 deaths in Scottish care homes. One of the party's spokespersons, Colin Fox, wrote that private care is "not only prohibitively expensive, despite huge subsidies from the public purse, but often of poor quality and saturated by poor working conditions and wage rates". He also said that "The case for a National Care Service [...] is supported by eminent public health clinicians such as Professor Allyson Pollock of Newcastle University". Other The party supports a universal basic income. Campaigns Time for £12 The SSP is currently involved in a campaign to raise the national minimum wage to £12 per hour, for everyone aged sixteen years old and over. The party has, since its foundation, called for the minimum wage to be