DRUG-FREE communities where residents are randomly tested to weed out addicts could become commonplace in as little as 20 years according to Scotland’s leading drugs expert.

Professor Neil McKeganey, a government adviser and drugs researcher from Glasgow University, believes Scotland is on the brink of a drugs epidemic where inner city neighbourhoods will become “overrun” by junkies.

He argues the authorities can barely cope with Scotland’s 50,000 addicts — more than half of whom live in and around Glasgow — and predicts the number could easily double by 2020, creating “enormous problems” for society.

McKeganey is concerned that drug-related crime such as murder, robbery and assault will spiral out of control unless ministers find an effective way of tackling the drugs problem.

He believes efforts which currently focus on “stabilising” addicts — as opposed to curing their addiction — are not working.

While not suggesting that people should face random drugs tests, McKeganey is convinced the public will support such controversial measures if the number of addicts — and the crime they commit — continues to rise.

He believes addicts could also be banned from retail parks and shopping centres to prevent them shoplifting to fund their habit.

His warnings follow a string of pledges by ministers to curb Scotland’s drugs problem.

Last month, they unveiled proposals to remove children from drug-addicted parents following a case in January when a Glasgow addict’s 11-year-old daughter collapsed in class after taking heroin. A few weeks later a young toddler died after drinking the heroin substitute methadone at his home in East Lothian.

Figures recently released by the executive show the number of under-16s being admitted to rehabilitation rose from 107 in 1998 to 418 last year. Double the number of children live in drug-addicted families in Scotland than in England.

“If we were unable to substantially reduce the level of drug-related criminality one could start to see calls for much wider testing within communities to establish who’s using what drugs,” said McKeganey.

“We might have to create drug-free communities using drug-testing or restrict addicts from retail areas between certain times. It would effectively create ghettos. But if we can’t control the addiction all we can do is control the movement of people.

“Serious drug abuse has an almost unrivalled capacity to undermine elements of society, our family life and communities, which means we absolutely have to reduce the level of illegal drug-abuse.”

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