Last year, this claimed the lives of 574 people.
Too many Scots are paying too high a price for the cost of living with drug misuse which affects all sections off society.
As Minister for Community Safety I have spent the past two-and-a-half years meeting and talking with people across Scotland affected by drug misuse – those suffering directly from problem drug use and their parents, children, partners, as well as those working hard to help them get back their lives.
I have talked to experts in the field, academics, practitioners, community workers and local government leaders.
In developing a drugs strategy for Scotland, The Road To Recovery, I have taken the debate beyond government and traditional party boundaries to develop a consensus on a new way forward. From all of these discussions one thing has been clear – the real difference that effective services can make to people’s lives. Every £1 spent on treatment to deal with drug addiction can save £9.50 for the public purse by reducing the high costs drug misuse puts on our health service, justice system and other public services.
This why I have been determined to make sure that we are able in Scotland to deliver effective services that will transform the lives of people and their families affected by drug problems.
We also know that to be effective, services need to be properly supported.
That is why we have increased investment year-on-year to support the good work of the professionals working at the frontline across Scotland.
This year I am raising the budget specifically to health boards to fund drugs treatment to a record £28.6 million. This is an increase of more than 20% over the life of this Parliament and their families – keeping the promise we made in 2007.
This increased funding will help health boards meet the challenging target we have agreed with them – to move towards a norm of no more than three weeks’ waiting from referral to treatment for problem drug use. As well as this increased funding, we will continue to support health boards and their partners to be able to deliver on this stretching target.
All our action is focused on the outcome of helping people to recover from their drug problems. We have established the Scottish Drugs Recovery Consortium to develop and promote recovery-based services across Scotland.
We must also keep challenging ourselves – are we doing enough? What more can we do?
The Scottish Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission met for the first time last week. This independent group will assess our progress in delivering the drugs strategy and challenge us to do more.
These are challenging times for public finances. We will not and cannot turn our back on this problem. The costs of drug misuse to Scottish society are too high to ignore. I am determined to make The Road To Recovery a reality for Scotland, of which we can all be proud.
We need to do this for the thousands of Scots and their families affected by drugs. Together we can build a better future for them all.
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