NICOLA Sturgeon has admitted her party has “failed in aspects of drugs policy” amid claims that rehabilitation and treatment systems are “fundamentally broken”.
The First Minister was pressed by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross over the drugs death rate in Scotland – the highest in Europe.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr Ross announced his party will publish plans before the summer recess for a right to recovery bill that he claimed would “give everyone a legal right to recovery”.
Mr Ross claimed that “people are still being denied access to rehab”, pointing the finger at the First Minster – adding “her Government’s addiction treatment system is fundamentally broken”.
READ MORE: Tories announce 'right to rehab' plans to end Scotland's spiralling drugs deaths
The First Minister refused to describe the system as broken, adding “that does a disservice to the many people across the country who are delivering services for people in need”.
She added: “But I do accept that the Government’s response hasn’t always matched that and that’s what we’ve got to get right.
“I think we have failed in aspects of drugs policy and I am determined to get it right.
“We have to provide the funding, we have to provide the right approaches and that is what there is an absolute determination and many different strands of work now underway to achieve.
“This is difficult work – there are no easy solutions. Change will not be delivered overnight but we are determined to make the change that is required.”
Mr Ross pointed to new standards already set out by Drugs Policy Minister Angela Constance, which he labelled “an important move in the right direction”, but warned “they're not game-changing – they are the basics”.
READ MORE: Action demanded to tackle Scotland's drugs deaths crisis
He added: “People on the frontline, in the hardest-hit communities, have been here before.
“They are hearing the same promises and warm words - but at the same time they see their families, their friends or their neighbours dying from drug abuse.
“All they hear is that by next spring, this Government might manage to meet the bare minimum of expectations that people who need treatment actually get it.
“Without teeth, these new standards won’t make a dent on the crisis. Unless we give them legal basis, they are effectively optional and can be overlooked.”
The First Minister acknowledged that her Government has “not yet brought forward a package of polices that are sufficient to tackle the severity of the challenge we face” but insisted funding for residential rehabilitation has been increased.
READ MORE: MSPs pledge to look at decriminalisation of drugs for personal use
But the Scottish Tory leader warned that “Scotland’s drug deaths are the highest in Europe and they are only going to get worse in the next few years if nothing is done”.
He added: “We’ve seen, whilst facing this Covid crisis, over the last year and a bit, this Parliament has been able to act and pass legislation at record speed. We need the exact same urgency to deal with Scotland's drug deaths crisis.
“My party will publish our proposals for a right to recovery bill before this Parliament rises for recess next week. “ Ms Sturgeon said she will “look with an open mind at any proposals that are brought forward" once the Conservatives publish their legislative plans.
She added that she would not rule out legislative options being brought forward “in an accelerated timescale” if MSPs wish that to happen.
She added: “What I will not do is hang back on the work that we have underway now.”
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