Terrible scale of drug-related deaths underlines urgent need for change
Commenting on new government figures showing that drug-related deaths in Scotland increased by 12%, the Scottish Greens health spokesperson, Gillian Mackay MSP, said: “All of these lives that have been lost were real people. They were someone’s son or daughter and they had friends and family who cared about them.
“This is a public health emergency and needs to be treated as such. We urgently need to address the root causes that are driving addiction in the first place. That means a focus on tackling poverty and isolation, and on supporting prevention services.
“As part of that, we need to increase the range and availability of those services, including the use of safe consumption rooms, which have an important role to play and are long overdue. Another important step would be the widespread use of drug checking to ensure that people know the strength and composition of what they are taking to prevent accidental overdose.
“These deaths are a human tragedy and are built on often very painful lives. That is why we also need to support the many people, families and communities whose lives are being impacted by addiction, rather than continuing to criminalise and punish people who are often already very marginalised.
“In countries which 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.
“Unless we see action from all levels of government, and the Scottish and UK governments working together, including a replacement for the Misuse of Drugs Act, we will continue to see lives lost needlessly.”