Flag-planting and posturing will not save a single life

Brad Pitt gave one of the better speeches at last week’s Oscars, which is to say his was one of the shorter speeches at the Dolby Theatre. Some of the winners might still, in fact, be on stage thanking their stylists, saving the planet or both.

Anyway, Brad, in a nod to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the movie he starred in, which reimagines an alternative history for the murderous Manson Family, suggested director Quentin Tarantino might want to make a film about the failed impeachment of Donald Trump where “in the end, the adults do the right thing.”

It can only be hoped that Mr Tarantino might one day make a film about the unfolding horror of Scotland’s drug problem, because the opportunities for adults to do the right thing have come and gone, year after year, decade after decade, death after needless death.

Last week, we learned that after some noses, possibly ministerial noses, were put out of joint by the Westminster government intending to stage a drug summit in Glasgow, Scotland’s experts are now going to hold their own the day before.

It seems a petty, rather pathetic decision and begs the question, was there an adult in the room when it was taken? Scotland’s addicts and their desperate families deserve an awful lot more than this pantomime of point-scoring, flag-planting and ego. Scottish public health minister Joe FitzPatrick was apparently so concerned that addicts and their families would not be heard at the summit arranged by the UK Government on February 27 that the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council simply have to stage their own event 24 hours earlier.

Sharon Brand, the co-founder of support group Recovery Dundee, spoke for many when she voiced frustration at the “cynical” political manoeuvring between London and Edinburgh, adding: “A lot of time has been wasted and continues to be wasted.”

Whatever the worth of these talks and, given how much talking has already been done, that must be questionable, the timing reeks of gimmickry, scoring points in a game most normal people know nothing of and care about even less. Every decent-minded Scot is dismayed by the everyday toll in our towns and cities as addicts lose their lives while the dismal mountain of warm words, discussion papers and talking-shops climbs ever higher.

If another day of discussion in Glasgow is the answer then Mr FitzPatrick is asking the wrong question. In fact, it seems unlikely that he, his advisers, and the legion of experts attending the never-ending round of conferences, at home and abroad, even know where to find the right question.

Of course, there is a time for talk but, far more importantly, there is a time for action. It is not easy to intervene in the chaotic, dysfunctional lives of addicts. It is difficult to provide effective care, support, and guidance to steer them into safer waters. It will demand the strongest leadership, absolute rigour and proper resources.

It seems a petty, rather pathetic decision