Scotland lacking emergency response to drug deaths crisis, expert says

Scotland is lacking an emergency response to the country’s drug deaths crisis, despite the Scottish Government describing it as an emergency, an expert said.

Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), said public policy was heading in the right direction.

But she warned that “intent without action” was the “major problem” facing the country.

Speaking during an event at the Festival of Politics at Holyrood chaired by SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, Ms Horsburgh said drug legalisation should be “on the table” as part of the solutions to the crisis.

And she said safer drug consumption rooms, such as the one in Glasgow, should be rolled out “at scale”.

Ms Horsburgh told an audience at the Scottish Parliament: “There are things we are doing well in Scotland and there are obviously things we are not doing well.

“The things we are doing well is finally reaching a point where we have the right policy direction.

“But policy intent without action, the implementation gap and pace are the major issues here.”

She added: “All these things require urgency.

“We’ve described the issue in Scotland as a public health emergency but what we’ve done so far is far from a public health emergency response – it’s lacking in pace and attention that the issue really needs.”

Ms Horsburgh said pilots such as the safer drug consumption room in Glasgow, the first of its kind in the UK, should be done “at scale”.

The SDF chief executive said policies such as drug legalisation should also be “on the table”, but admitted it was something unlikely to be looked at by the UK Government, which controls drug laws.

Catriona Matheson, professor of substance use at the University of Stirling, also appeared on the panel.

She said poly-drug use, the use of more than one drug by a person, was now common in Scotland.

Prof Matheson said the Government had to adapt and respond quickly to a drug market that “changes all the time”.

The academic stressed the importance of “psycho-social” support for people with addiction that could help get to the root of the issue, which the panel said included issues such as trauma, poverty and mental wellbeing.

But she warned that “previous negative experiences” from people seeking rehabilitation services acted as a “barrier” in the support offered to those in need.

“That’s something that needs to be overcome,” Prof Matheson said, “and it’s not easy to fix.”

Responding to the comments after the event, Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Maree Todd said: “We take the issue of drug deaths and drug-related harms incredibly seriously, which is why we are providing record levels of funding for drugs and alcohol programmes across Scotland.

“I’m glad that experts are welcoming the measures we’ve introduced to reduce drug-related deaths, including widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone.

“Work continues to deliver drug-checking facilities and we have also opened the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility, which has been recognised globally for its essential role in saving lives.”