Time to end Scotland’s drug abuse shame

Death toll proves well-meaning but misguided strategies have failed – we must act now to save lives

If there were lingering doubts over Scotland’s chronic and intractable drug problem, they are now thoroughly dispelled.

Figures published yesterday show the number of drug deaths rose by 23 per cent to a record high last year.

Official statistics show 867 overdose deaths were recorded in 2016, up by 161 on 2015. The figure is the largest ever recorded and more than double the 2006 total of 421.

Shamefully, someone is eight times more likely to die of an overdose in Scotland than elsewhere in the EU.

It would be easy to place the blame for this squarely at the door of the Scottish Government.

However, this is a problem which dates back decades and has never been properly addressed. It is a problem which shows no sign of improving and could actually get worse as a generation of drug users moves from middle to old age.

Many of the causes of Scotland’s drug problem are well known – the effects of deprivation, the scourge of heroin on communities, particularly those in inner cities.

Aside from the grim death toll, there is the impact drugs have on the criminal justice system, the drain they place on the NHS.

What is less clear is how we go about tackling this problem. Yesterday the Scottish Drugs Forum called for a “fundamental re-think” of the approach to drug addiction. This cannot be a mere tinkering around the edges.

It must be a major public health intervention such as the smoking ban, or what the Scottish Government hopes will result from alcohol minimum pricing.

And while the statistics have their root in drug abuse dating from the 1980s and 90s, the current administration at Holyrood cannot be completely absolved of responsibility.

There is growing frustration with the Scottish Government’s Road to Recovery strategy, introduced in 2008 and now be seen to be an abject failure.

The figures published yesterday show that more than two-thirds of deaths last year were among men and almost three-quarters were in those over the age of 35.

Sadly, it may already be too late for a lost generation who have been repeatedly failed by well-meaning but misguided drug strategies.

We cannot allow the same fate to befall the next generation.

These latest statistics are stark but they can provide a long overdue wake-up call.