‘Big solution’ needed to rise in drug deaths
Politicians call for action after grim figures revealed
Perthshire politicians have warned the country’s damning drug death numbers is a national “emergency” and it cannot “arrest its way out” of the crisis.
New National Records of Scotland published annual statistics showing the country recorded 1264 deaths last year - a six per cent rise.
Perth and Kinross did, however, buck that trend as the number of drug-related deaths fell from 30 to 25.
Tayside’s deaths reached 118 overall, a rise of eight per cent, highlighting a gradual rise across the past decade.
Most of the Tayside deaths are concentrated in Dundee which jumped from 66 to 72, with Fife jumping from 64 to 81 and Angus from eight to 21.
It means Scotland’s rate is higher than those reported for all EU countries, and is approximately three-and-a-half times higher than the UK as a whole.
Despite a move in the right direction for the region, Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart urged that action needs to be taken.
“It is welcome to see that the drug death figures in Perth and Kinross have dropped in the last year, but the figures Scotland-wide tell a very different story,” he said.
“This is an emergency and it is an emergency that needs big solutions.
“We now must use everything available to address it the best we can. More than that, we need all the necessary responsibilities and powers to ensure that we deal with the totality of the problem.”
The figures do represent a fivefold increase in Perth and Kinross over the past 10 years, which Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Mark Ruskell described as “heartbreaking”.
He said: “When the 2018 statistics were published, revealing a record 1187 drug deaths across Scotland, many thought that would be a wakeup call for government.
“Yet the 2019 figures are even worse, showing a heart-breaking 1264 deaths.
“In Perth and Kinross, 25 people tragically lost their lives to drugs.
“This is a shameful failure of leadership. It’s clear that Scotland cannot arrest its way out of a drug deaths crisis. When it comes to drugs, criminalisation has caused more harm than it can claim to have prevented.
“Addiction is better tackled by trained medical professionals, than the strong arm of the law.
“The Lord Advocate has the power to act now.
“He should use his public interest discretion to ensure that no health professionals would face prosecution for providing life-saving health interventions.
“Establishing safe consumption facilities could be the first step in reducing drug-related deaths and other serious harms in Perth and Kinross.”