Douglas Ross reveals he has never taken drugs at visit to drug centre
Conservative leader Douglas Ross revealed that he has never taken recreational drugs as he hailed a joint visit with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to a drug recovery centre a "breakthrough".
Speaking following the visit to the Bluevale Comunity Club in the Haghill area of Glasgow, Mr Ross, who said the worst misdemeanour of his youth had been to drink too much alcohol at a Young Farmers’ dance, also said he refused to rule out backing a pilot scheme for drug consumption rooms in Scotland – even if his Right to Recovery Bill does not pass.
Pointing out that no opposition leader and First Minister have held a joint visit together since the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Mr Ross said he had heard “encouraging comments” from the Ms Sturgeon relating to the bill, and said insisted that compromise was necscottish essary “to get the right outcome”.
The leader of the opposition last week stated a u-turn on the creation of drug consumption rooms – a strategy his party has previously opposed – saying he would not oppose any pilot brought forward by the Scottish Government.
He said he had been influenced in his change of opinion on drug consumption rooms during recent discussions with charity Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, who he said had “convinced” him of the need to get more evidence on drug consumption rooms.
The Scottish Conservatives say the legislation would give people the right to the addiction treatment they need, including a residential rehabilitation place, and has the backing of seven drug campaign organisations.
Mr Ross said: "It might be that drug consumption rooms aren't the answer, or they are the answer here in Scotland. Given the seriousness of the situation, I won't be opposing it that pilot if the Scottish Government bring it forward. And I want to continue to look at the evidence.”
He also told reporters that he had never dabbled in recreational drugs when he was growing up in rural Aberdeenshire.
He said: “I led quite a sheltered life on the farm, the worst was going to a Young Farmers’ dance and probably drinking too much, but I've never taken drugs in my life.”
The joint visit was arranged after Ms Sturgeon agreed to the meeting following a request from Mr Ross at First Minister’s Questions in October.
The pair also visited the community club’s sports facilities which offer a range of activities for young people and adults including boxing, personal training and strength endurance classes which focus on improving the mental and physical health of members.
During the visit, Ms Sturgeon confirmed a funding award of almost £100,000 to Bluevale, to enable the organisation to continue with their recovery and wellbeing services, helping their work in the community and with people in recovery from problematic substance use.
Mr Ross said: “I think it's a breakthrough, the fact that we're both here together. I can't think of a period in the devolution era since 1999, where the First Minister and the Leader of the Opposition went on a joint visit together. To agree to that, to meet with the same people, to hear the same stories and the same experiences and the same requests, I think it is good.”
He added: “The First Minister wasn't there to attack Conservatives, I wasn't there to attack the SNP. This was about the first minister of the country and the Leader of the Opposition coming together and to show a united front on an issue that is a national scandal. "And hopefully, that reassures both the communities we visited and people across Scotland that their politicians are going to take it seriously. We don't necessarily agree 100 per cent on how to tackle this issue, but at least if we can go to a visit like this together and show that we are willing to park our politics at the door and focus on the issue in front of us that provides some comfort.”
Speaking at Bluevale, Ms Sturgeon said: “People should have a right to recovery and for that right to recovery to be meaningful, it has to have the right services with the right investment in place.
"The debate about the bill is whether a right to recovery should be captured in law. I’ve said I’m open minded to that and when it’s published, we’ll look at that with a fair mind and support it if we think it will add to this.”
Earlier this year, new figures revealed that Scotland has suffered more than 10,000 drugs deaths in the last 14 years, with another record number of people dying in 2020.
Currently Scotland has the worst drugs deaths toll in Europe, and the 2019 figure of 1,264 lives lost – three-anda-half times more than in England and Wales – is expected to have been surpassed during the pandemic.
Bluevale founder and project manager Kenny Trainer said: “We now ask that all parties, and both governments, put their political differences aside and agree on how we can tackle Scotland’s problems not just at a national level, but locally – ensuring that any investment reaches the heart of our communities where it will make the biggest impact.
"We have seen too many friends and family members die while seeking access to the help they needed and that’s why we back any rights-based approach when it comes to drug treatment – one based on holding decision makers to account where necessary.”