Finding the right fix for drug abuse

The only consensus seems to be that there is no quick fix, but that it needs fixing quickly. For Amy Winehouse, or her lyrics at least, it is all about rehab. For Fergus Ewing, the minister about to announce Scotland's first new drugs strategy for a decade, the key is recovery.

Speaking today at the annual conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) in Turnberry, Mr Ewing, Community Safety Minister, will argue a "fresh approach" to tackling the problem is essential.

In an exclusive interview with The Herald before the conference, Mr Ewing explained there are no magic solutions but the strategy will incorporate a range of measures - including methadone and abstinence - to cater for individual needs.

"The consultation is very open, we are not going to turn up in parliament and pull rabbits out of a hat," he said. "If there was a magic solution it would have been found by now."

The strategy will be published before the summer.

EDUCATION/ENFORCEMENT
Drug seizures have increased by 50% since 1999, with more than 5200 seizures of class A drugs in 2005-06. Last year, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency seized Class A drugs with a street value of £7.5m, but officers admit enforcement cannot work alone.

"Enforcement does work, but it is difficult to say that when drugs are still here," said Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, the Acpos drugs co-ordinator.

"We are having a real impact on trafficking but we have to drive down demand and that means getting the real and credible messages out to young people about the risks of drug-taking for them, their parents and families and on the people growing the drugs, too.

"We have to address this from a range of angles. We will continue to tackle trafficking head on, but need to make sure our children and young people are given the right messages and that we cut the demand."

Research suggests there are between 40,000 and 60,000 children affected by parental drug misuse. Mr Ewing will tell the conference that helping children and young people and preventing them from taking illegal drugs will be a key priority in the strategy.

"Drug misuse is a symptom of the failure of other policies," he will tell delegates. "I strongly believe - if we can successfully grow the economy, allowing more opportunities in work; enhance children's experiences in their early years; reduce deprivation; and improve our nation's mental health - we will have a positive impact on drug misuse."

The latest figures show that Scotland's drugs deaths are at a record high, with 421 in 2006.

Following the publication of a UN report yesterday, which warned that celebrity users have made taking drugs such as cocaine socially acceptable, Mr Ewing will make it clear that such personalities have a responsibility to young people.

"I believe that celebrities, sporting heroes and other individuals that young people look up to and admire have an added responsibility to act as role models and lead by example."

Experts, including the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), believe that the vast majority of Scotland's damaging drug use has its roots in, and is perpetuated by, poverty and inequalities in areas such as income, housing, jobs and health.

The SDF's submission to the consultation states: "Tackling the deep-rooted social ills associated with these inter-related issues will, therefore, require very substantial and widespread will among Scotland's civil society. This must be underpinned by wide-ranging, well-resourced and widely targeted support across a large spectrum of areas."

Dave Liddell, head of SDF, believes that significant extra investment is needed to develop new programmes to address these inequalities and provide better care.

PRISON/COMMUNITY
As The Herald reveals today, Mr Ewing does not think those on short-term prison sentences can have their drug addiction successfully dealt with in prison. He has advocated a wider use of community sentences for minor offenders.

"It is very difficult for prisons to give any meaningful treatment to short-term prisoners simply because of the logistics," he said. "If the sentence is less than 31 days they cannot provide any meaningful sustained treatment. We are saying that a lot of these people shouldn't have gone to prison in the first place."

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs), one of the measures administered in the court, are available across Scotland as an alternative to custody. With more than 80% of new prisoners testing positive for drugs, and up to 40% of those in prison still testing positive, thousands of people are thought to be eligible for DTTOs.

The piloted drug court in Glasgow has been extended but not yet rolled out, a decision thought to be partly motivated by cost. However, it has been so successful it is now being copied by England and Norway.

The evaluation of the courts also revealed that orders are more cost effective and more likely to change long-term behaviour than prison. An 18-month order at the Glasgow drug court costs £24,408, almost half the cost of the same period in prison - roughly £46,008. Research shows that every £1 spent on drug treatment saves £3 in the criminal justice system.

Of the prisoners released in 1999, 60% were convicted of another offence within two years. In contrast, 42% of offenders who received a community service order were reconvicted.

Since 2004, further use has been made of community sentences, but experts say this had little impact on prisoner numbers because of a lack of resources. Mr Ewing said: "Plainly there is a very strong case for drug courts. We have attracted some criticism from opposition parties for not extending the drug courts but we look upon them with an open mind for the good work they do.

"Nearly 50% of people given DTTOs didn't reoffend. We are doing a pilot in Lothian and Borders to devise a DTTO-like measure for lower-grade offenders to get them earlier. The Tories have pushed this and I would emphasise that the strategy is not about party politics it is about getting the best system for Scotland. Where we have something that works we want to repeat it. Where there are things that don't work there will be no more Mr Nice Guy."

METHADONE/ABSTINENCE
Some 22,000 people are prescribed methadone in Scotland. Many have been "parked" on the heroin substitute for years.

"I welcome this opportunity to set the record straight," said Mr Ewing. "Any reports that we will as a government force people to go cold turkey' is simply not sensible or true. What we want to focus on is recovery. Recovery of self-worth, recovery of family, of responsibility.

"We recognise that you need to look at the whole person and their whole circumstances, their family background, their housing, employment. No government could or should take on the role of being a GP or clinician.

"What is clear is that there are too many problems for people to access the suitable programme. Now for some this may be a methadone programme and for some it may be abstinence-based.

"Methadone has been endorsed as an appropriate treatment to deal with serious problems that some people may have, namely the habit of injecting drugs, acquisitive crime, and a lifestyle of committing burglary and theft to pay for their chaotic lifestyle. Before individuals had the chance to go on to methadone as an opiate substitute many of them were a real threat to themselves and society."

But, for some, the solution involves more than words. Rowdy Yates, head of the Scottish Addiction Studies Unit at Stirling University, said: "We need to do a lot more about recovery than just talk about it. Buzz words are fun but don't get us very far. We don't even have serious enough attempts at recovery in prison.

"We have seen huge expansion in drug treatment services but almost all has been focused on methadone. We need residential therapeutic drugs communities and we need to re-empower drugs workers - many of whom have never seen people stop using drugs and may have stopped believing it can happen."