Yesterday, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, setting out its policy and legislative priorities for the year ahead.
While we welcome the renewed attention to drug-related harms, we are concerned that the response remains far short of what is required to effectively address a public health emergency.
Kirsten Horsburgh, our Chief Executive Officer, says:
“The headlines following the Programme for Government have understandably focused on the proposed shift from 14 health boards to just two. While it remains to be seen what this will mean in practice for drug and alcohol treatment and support, implementation of the MAT Standards must be protected and accelerated. The new structure must also retain a strong understanding of local needs, particularly those of people in rural and remote areas.
“The Programme for Government accurately describes Scotland’s drug deaths as a public health emergency. But the Scottish Government has used this term since 2019 – and, seven years on, people are still dying preventable deaths at a rate that is still the highest in Europe. The continued recognition of the scale of the crisis is welcome, but the response remains far short of what is needed.
“There are many reasons for the disappointing pace of change, but the impact of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 looms large. It is simply not possible to deliver the modern, public health-led response that Scotland needs while being constrained by legislation that is more than 50 years old.
“Drugs law is reserved to Westminster, but that cannot be where the conversation ends. Scotland’s political representatives must challenge the UK Government to fundamentally overhaul the Misuse of Drugs Act, while also being much more ambitious about what can be achieved through the powers and mechanisms available to Scotland.
“That means asking difficult questions about what more can be done through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, health and social care, policing, local government and every other lever at our disposal.
“Seven years after Scotland’s drug-related deaths were declared a public health emergency, the question is simple: how much longer are we prepared to call it an emergency without delivering an emergency response?”