| The minister, during a visit to the city’s Discovery Point, also presented the Scottish Government’s Road To Recovery bid to address the country’s £2.6 billion a year drug problem.
Dundee has been particularly blighted by heroin abuse in recent years, and part of the local strategy is to reduce the number of drug-related deaths and overdoses.
Over the next three years, the Dundee Drug and Alcohol Action Team will seek to ensure that local services meet the needs of individuals and families affected by substance misuse — and children in particular.
The team will also address the link between deprivation and problematic substance misuse, enhancing prospects for those living in deprived areas.
The strategy is described as “a vision where fewer people start using drugs, where early intervention prevents and reduces the harm caused by drugs, where more people recover to make a positive contribution towards society, and communities are stronger and safer.”
DAAT members include the city council, Tayside Police, NHS Tayside, the voluntary sector, Scottish Prison Service and Community Justice Authority.
Mr Ewing said, “I’m delighted to be visiting Dundee to launch the DAAT’s three-year strategy and action plan, and hear first hand from the professionals, voluntary groups and service users about their experience of tackling the various problems which drugs misuse pose for local communities.”
That strategy seeks to promote recovery from drug problems and, in so doing, help cut the estimated annual £2.6 billion cost of problem drug use to the Scottish economy and society.
The plan includes a recognition that tackling drug abuse will only be done through effective policies on the economy, tackling poverty and supporting families and children.
It takes a fresh approach to drugs education, including the provision of information on illegal substances to every household with parents or grandparents in Scotland.
Official estimates suggest Dundee alone has almost 4000 people abusing opiates or benzodiazepines (tranquillisers).
The city also has a high prevalence of people who misuse alcohol, with more than 1000 a year requiring hospital treatment as a result.
DAAT chairman Dr Brian Kidd said, “I am convinced that by working in partnership we can take advantage of the renewed vigour to address substance misuse issues both nationally and locally.” |
