Drug consumption rooms are not a magic wand. But they’ll save lives.. and we can’t treat people if they die
MSP outlines plan to tackle scourge
SNP MP for Inverclyde and vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on drugs policy reform
As we come to terms with the latest drug death figures in Scotland, I sense a genuine urgency for action.
But what needs to be done and which is more immediate?
The first step is to understand the problem.
That may sound glib but until we truly understand what is a complex and deep-rooted issue, we have no chance of building a solution.
Earlier this week, I attended an online event organised by Fiona Gilbertson of Recovering Justice.
The principal speakers were Peter Krykant, Johann Hari, Helen Clark and Fiona herself.
Monica Lennon and Alison Thewliss lent a political perspective to the discussion.
I mention this because listening must be part of the process. Fiona, Peter and Johann all have lived experience and have gone on to help, support and guide others through their addictions.
The network of people they have around them are at the bleeding edge of the problem and must be part of the solution.
The other speaker, Helen, is of course the Right Honourable Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and currently chair of the global Commission on Drugs Policy.
I am sure that if she was asked, Helen would be happy to contribute her wealth of wisdom on this issue to the newly appointed Minister for Drugs Policy Angela Constance or, indeed, the Prime Minister
Boris Johnson.
I know because I have already asked her. If we are going to form the right solutions we need the right people in the room.
Immediately, as part of the solution, we need to roll out Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) while recognising that they are not a magic wand.
They provide a clean, clinical, non-threatening environment where intravenous drug users can be supplied with needles, sterile water, wipes, a cup of tea and a touch of humanity. A relationship can be formed based on mutual trust and non-judgmental advice can be offered.
And best of all, lives can be saved. We can’t treat people if they are dead.
This is not a criticism of the many fine organisations that currently provide help and support including the Heroin Assisted Treatment Unit but we are facing down the barrel of an HIV epidemic in Glasgow and it’s time to build on what we already have.
Naloxone has a role in this, too. All our frontline emergency service workers should be carrying Naloxone either as an injection or a nasal spray, below.
Overdose deaths are prevented by the timely administration of Naloxone, it is currently being used in Scotland and trialled by Police Scotland. I would plead for these trials to be extended and a full rrollout to be on the agenda.
Longer Lo term, we need beds. Rehabilitation Reha units where experts can pprovide counselling, where shared share experience can be understood unde rather than judged, where wher people can find refuge from a chaotic chao life and either find abstinence a or control their use.
The latter may surprise folk and I accept that abstinence is easier to quantify and understand.
But above all else, we need to ask why people are driven to inflict such drug-induced damage upon themselves and only then will we be in a position to tackle it.
The majority of people who are defined as problematic drug users are self-medicating because life without drugs is more painful.
It costs more to incarcerate a drug user than it does to treat them and yet our jails are used as dumping grounds for people suffering from addiction.
Care and cure, not criticise and criminalise. The end game is to remove the root causes, the poverty, the trauma, the sense of a life not worth living – but immediately we must remove the stigma around addiction and treat all addictions as health issues.