I know I wouldn’t be standing here today if I didn’t get that intervention
DRUGS campaigners have laid down a blueprint for reform, demanding an extra £20million a year for treatment and the appointment of a national Recovery Minister. The Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) group claims current approaches deny longterm residential rehab for many people whose lives are in imminent danger. The action plan created within their You Keep Talking, We Keep Dying campaign lists a 23-point action plan, which FAVOR demands is immediately considered by the Scottish drug deaths taskforce. Many group members believe they would be dead today if they were not given the chance to detach themselves completely from their drug-addicted lifestyles via intensive therapy. The gathering in drugravaged Possilpark, in Glasgow, heard from politicians, including Monica Lennon MSP and MP Paul Sweeney, and people who have lost multiple relatives to overdoses.
Among them was Donny Balloch, 67, who demanded that more priority is given to residential programmes like those offered at Castle Craig, which he claims saved his life.
Donny said: “When I went in there 20 years ago, my life was on the line and there was no way I was able to get off drugs without that kind of approach.
“They helped sort my head out and changed my outlook on things. I know I wouldn’t be standing here today if I didn’t get that intervention.” When Donny left Castle Craig, he managed to stay drug free and became a drugs worker. FAVOR’s CEO Annemarie Ward said: “If we invest in proper treatments, we can break the cycle in one generation.” She slammed the Scottish Government for failing to have measures in place to capture how many people are on methadone and how they might be progressing. She said: “If you are diabetic, doctors need to know how much insulin you are on and if you are getting better. We need the same measures for people in drug treatment.”