By Andrew Horne, Director of Addaction in Scotland
SCOTLAND’S drug strategy The Road to Recovery is 10 years old and a new plan will shortly be published by the government. Strategy documents rarely capture the public imagination but lives will be saved or lost based on whether we get it right.
It comes at an important moment. Scotland is facing a familiar but growing public health crisis. Last year 934 people died from drug related causes and alcohol deaths reached 1,120. I lead Scotland’s largest charity provider of drug and alcohol services. On behalf of the people we help, these are my five “tests” for the new plan.
1) Modernise services: Funding cuts had a significant impact on the quality of our services. I know from our own service that it is too often about “firefighting” and not enough about structured, person-centred therapy. We welcome the reinvestment of new resources and with it we need create innovative responses to reach more people. Last year we launched a web chat service. We’ve helped more than 10,000 people who otherwise might not have reached out. Our services focus on people with long-term complex problems (and that is essential) but we need to be there for everyone. That includes students, working mums, older people and busy professionals. Nobody decides to become a slave to drugs or alcohol. It’s usually a long journey and we need to help people earlier. Individuals often purchase their drugs online, it is only natural that they will also seek help online.
2) Intervene early: The new plan must include resources for young people and early intervention. Every day we meet young people at high risk due to alcohol or drug use. It’s a familiar story in other public services too, including schools. If we fail to intervene and help, we’ll see these young people in later life in our adult services.
3) Treat problems as a health issue: Criminalising people with drug and alcohol problems does not work. We welcomed the move by the Scottish Government to bring drugs and alcohol under a health agenda. We need to take the next step and stop criminalising people for health problems. I’m often reminded that drug laws are a reserved matter and thus there is nothing that we can do. This is not true. Scotland can make decisions about how we police, who we arrest and who we prosecute. We can follow the lead of Portugal and give people the help and support they need rather than punishment. Incidentally, in 2015 (last official figures), 49 people died in Portugal from drugs.
4) Tackle drug-related deaths: Drug and alcohol-related deaths are at historic levels. We need to pilot bold solutions to end a national scandal. This must include evidence-based responses like injecting rooms for opioid users, better replacement prescribing, and the reinstatement of specialist needle exchanges where people can access holistic help and support. We need to acknowledge that harm reduction is part of the recovery journey.
5) Recognise alcohol as a major problem: The Road for Recovery was a drug strategy yet services in Scotland work with people who have drug and alcohol problems. In our services, nearly 70 per cent present with alcohol problems. Alcohol is everywhere. It gets less attention than our drug problems but it is just as corrosive. Scotland’s awful relationship with alcohol is evident week in week out in our hospitals, police stations, prisons and social services. We need a proper response.
Scotland is a small country with some big problems. For too long we’ve accepted drug and alcohol problems as part of our society and culture. If we can look beyond these shores we will see brave people who have found creative solutions to their unique circumstances. It is time for us to be brave.
* Addaction has a free and confidential web chat service at www.addaction.org.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel