We led fight to tackle this hidden epidemic
THE Daily Record launched a national debate on our drug laws in June 2015.
Professor David Nutt, a world authority on addiction, backed our call for new thinking and dismissed UK drug policy as “a complete mess”.
He spoke out after we published pictures of an addict with a syringe in his hand collapsed on waste ground close to Glasgow city centre.
The following year, we highlighted the rising number of deaths from fake Valium drugs flooding the streets — labelled Scotland’s blue plague.
We warned of the hidden epidemic on the streets of towns and cities across the country.
Peddled as diazepam, the potentially lethal fake tablets often contain Etizolam or other chemicals.
The rising number of drugs deaths was brought into sharp focus with the deaths of three young women from Renfrew.
The three, who were all friends, died within 10 days of each other.
The drug-death figures in Scotland at that time stood at 614, higher than any other country in Europe.
That figure then rose further, to 1187 during 2018.
In March this year, the Scottish Government’s public health minister Joe FitzPatrick promised an emergency task force made up of experts would be assembled to address the issues.
However, he rejected the Record’s call for a public inquiry, stating it would be too slow.
In July this year, the Record made the bold decision to call for drug use to be decriminalised.
An investigation we conducted suggested the best response to drug misuse would be to recognise it as a health issue, instead of criminalising addicts. We insisted that the targeting of dealers should be ramped up instead of wasting resources penalising users. We also looked at how other countries such as Portugal moved towards decriminalisation, and the benefits of doing so. Our move to change drug laws was roundly welcomed and in September, the Scottish Government set up the task force to help tackle the scandal. FitzPatrick also took part in a meeting hosted by the Record and Scottish Labour’s shadow health spokeswoman Monica Lennon. Among those who addressed the roundtable was activist, author and Record columnist Darren McGarvey. It led to a pledge to tackle the drug-death emergency that was signed by Labour, the SNP, the Lib Dems, Greens and Tories.