End drug deaths with urgent support and consumption room expansion
The Scottish Government must grasp the urgency of this situation and do more to end drug related deaths, says Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman, who has called for an expansion of safe consumption rooms and funding for support services.
Figures published show that Scotland disappointingly remains the drug death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row, as 1,017 deaths have been recorded last year.
Maggie said:
“Every single one of these deaths was preventable. Real people, who deserved a chance at a good life, had that chance cruelly taken from them.
“These deaths have not happened in isolation. A key factor is lack of appropriate and accessible support. And, with daily life becoming increasingly challenging to cope with for so many people, we must see a shift in approach.
“We urgently need to address the root causes. It is unsurprising that people who are facing limited job opportunities, sky-rocketing bills and very little in the way of support services to help them recover in the first place, would find themselves stuck in the cycle of addiction.
“The opening of the safe consumption facility in Glasgow has been a positive step, and those services need to be expanded across Scotland’s communities.
“We need to focus on harm reduction and treat drug misuse and addiction as the health issues that they are, rather than as criminal ones.
“In countries that have taken a different approach, like Portugal, lives have been saved. By taking a health-led approach they have reduced the stigma associated with addiction and encouraged people to seek help.
“There must be greater action from all levels of government, including both Holyrood and Westminster, or we will continue to see more tragedies and more lives being lost needlessly.”