| The Scottish Drugs Forum yesterday used a major conference in Stirling to launch its bid for a pilot study into the impact of the medical intervention north of the Border.
That was backed by evidence from other European countries, including compelling statistics on reductions in crime and employment from Switzerland.
However, Allan Petrie of the Independent Voice of the Electorate (IVOTE) said the contention that prescribing heroin to those who have a huge habit to support reduced crime was “ridiculous.”
He said, “I think it is a disgraceful way to go forward. It is like putting up the white flag in the war against drugs and saying we will pay for their addiction.
“At a time when they are trying to ban smoking of a legal drug in public places, they want people to be allowed to take something which is illegal.
“What is going to happen next — giving DVDs and televisions to people to stop them going out and shoplifting?
“There has got to be something else that can be done. I would not be happy about taxpayers’ money being spent on this and I’m sure thousands of people will feel the same.”
The conference yesterday heard that half the users on a programme in Bern had moved into work and away from the drug scene after a year.
The numbers living on illegal income — including the “acquisitive crime” often referred to by police in Scotland — had plummeted from 69% to 12% by the end of the same period.
Mr Petrie dismissed the Swiss figures, saying that “what is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander.”
He continued, “Switzerland has a totally different way of life, different social problems. They have a higher cost of living and wages are higher too.”
Those working in the drugs field accept that the proposal to help the most desperate of Scotland’s 23,000 injecting drug users was always going to be contentious.
It is estimated that, at any one time, a maximum of 1000 people in Scotland could benefit from being prescribed heroin.
Director of the SDF David Liddell said, “There seems to be strong evidence that heroin prescribing can work by helping people who have failed to engage with other treatment programmes and who would otherwise have no contact at all with services.
“A pilot in Scotland could establish the facts so that the public could see for themselves the benefits of this new approach — as in Switzerland, a reduction in crime alone would probably do it for most people.”
The SDF has called for a pilot to be included in trials to be launched in England, but it’s understood the Scottish Executive may await results from south of the border before proceeding. |
