This week’s release of data from the National Records of Scotland relating to people who died of drug misuse in 2023 made for more grim reading, showing an increase of 12 per cent on the year before.
Today, however, one of our readers argues that blaming the Scottish Government is much too simplistic.
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Stan Grodynski of Longniddry writes:
'Scotland has the highest drug deaths in Europe' is the annually repeated news from the BBC and much of the UK mainstream media in a simplistic casting of the blame on the SNP Scottish Government.
Each death due to a drug overdose is highly regrettable but it is a gross disservice to the deceased and their families to lay all the blame on a government that did not exist when the seeds of this current tragedy were sown and still today does not have drug policy powers. During the de-industrialisation of Glasgow and Dundee there were no serious "transition plans" enacted by either Tory or Labour UK governments and still today neither party in government is prepared to support devolution of drug policy. Furthermore, Westminster has failed to prevent the deadly influence of England’s “County Lines” drug-dealing networks peddling more dangerous contaminated drugs throughout the UK.
The Scottish Government appears to be earnestly attempting to tackle this devastating scourge and in spite of resistance from the UK Government should have the long-awaited first UK 'safer drug consumption facility' up and running shortly ('UK's first safe drug consumption room to open in Glasgow in October', heraldscotland, August 21). This will complement the range of measures already undertaken by the Scottish Government but there is no magic wand that Holyrood can wave to suddenly bring a disastrous consequence of decades of deprivation to an end, especially as the Scottish Government still does not have the power to decriminalise the use of drugs. Perhaps instead of seeking more ways to undermine the elected Scottish Government our newly-appointed Secretary of State for Scotland could seek to work with the Scottish Government to seriously tackle this fatal scourge on all fronts across the so-called United Kingdom.
Perhaps also, instead of travestying drug deaths as the failing of the Scottish Government, some in the media should re-examine their professional objectivity and work to bring about a broad consensus on tackling the spiralling spread of contaminated drugs which will have dire ramifications throughout the UK."
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