Because she is concentrating on independence rather than the drug epidemic in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has been charged with failing to respond quickly enough.
A new study that urged significant reforms to the way narcotics are handled criticised the First Minister today.
After three years of research, the Drugs Deaths Taskforce issued 20 recommendations and demanded that the Scottish and UK governments adopt 139 specific actions.
The 135-page report applauded some of Ms. Sturgeon’s administration’s efforts while criticising others for moving too slowly and stating that “rhetoric needs to be backed up by action.”
According to the research, three Scots pass away from heroin overdoses each day.
In Scotland, there were 1,339 drug-related fatalities in 2020, a rate that was significantly higher than in the rest of the UK and in all of Europe.
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, referred to the murders as a “national shame” and charged that the SNP government was “distracted by promoting their independence obsession at every step.”
Boris Johnson has refused to approve Ms. Sturgeon’s demand for an additional independence vote in October of next year.
If we want to significantly lower the awful number of lives lost to drugs in Scotland, this watershed report makes it quite apparent that it can never happen again, according to Mr. Ross.
Therefore, it is shameful that Nicola Sturgeon is moving forward with her plans for a further polarising independence referendum in 2019.
The record number of drug-related deaths should be combatted using that time and resources, according to the statement.
David Strang, the taskforce’s chairman and a former chief constable, urges 139 specific steps to be implemented by the Scottish and UK governments in addition to other organisations in the study.
In addition to several recommended legal reforms, he wants safe drug use rooms to become a reality in the UK.
He wants the approach to drugs to shift from punishment to care.
Safe consumption areas, he claimed, could assist direct people into treatment but are not a “miracle cure” for addiction.
Mr. Strang urged the Scottish Government to develop an action plan within six months and added that construction on the first consumption rooms should start immediately.
The paper also discussed the Scottish government’s efforts thus far, saying that “many have drawn parallels between the present drug fatalities issue and the COVID-19 outbreak, which elicited an enormous Government response.”
According to the First Minister and Minister for Drug Policy, drug overdose deaths are Scotland’s second public health emergency.
We agree that this level of reaction to a terrible and unjustifiable loss of life is appropriate.
It’s crucial, though, that they are more than just empty words. The words must be followed up by deeds.
To define what a practical response to the drug-deaths problem entails, the Scottish Government should study foreign cases of public health emergencies.
The equalities law should be tightened to eliminate “any unfair division between drug dependency and other health issues,” among other suggested legislative improvements.
The report calls for additional work to shift views and states that “substantial cultural change” is required to lessen stigma and discrimination.
According to Mr. Strang, the taskforce thought about decriminalising drugs but decided it would ‘distract’ from the important issues they needed to address.
I guess what we feel is that Scotland isn’t ready for that yet, he said.
However, if you were to take that route, there would need to be substantial deliberation. It might be a journey we embark on.
According to the report, “much more financing” is required in addition to what the Scottish Government has previously promised to address drug-related fatalities.
Minister for Drug Policy Angela Constance stated: “Many of the recommendations made in earlier reports have already been put into action, including steps to lessen the pandemic’s effects and the extension of the police naloxone trial programme.
“Some are already underway, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, safer drug consumption facilities, drug-checking facilities, halting Friday liberations, and drug-checking facilities.
“Of course, there are some areas where we want to go far further, and implementing today’s proposals will be essential.
To better our understanding of harms in real-time so that we can strengthen our response, we have announced a new commitment of £1.1 million towards public health monitoring programmes.
Because she is concentrating on independence rather than the drug epidemic in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has been charged with failing to respond quickly enough.
A new study that urged significant reforms to the way narcotics are handled criticised the First Minister today.
After three years of research, the Drugs Deaths Taskforce issued 20 recommendations and demanded that the Scottish and UK governments adopt 139 specific actions.
The 135-page report applauded some of Ms. Sturgeon’s administration’s efforts while criticising others for moving too slowly and stating that “rhetoric needs to be backed up by action.”
According to the research, three Scots pass away from heroin overdoses each day.
In Scotland, there were 1,339 drug-related fatalities in 2020, a rate that was significantly higher than in the rest of the UK and in all of Europe.
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, referred to the murders as a “national shame” and charged that the SNP government was “distracted by promoting their independence obsession at every step.”
Boris Johnson has refused to approve Ms. Sturgeon’s demand for an additional independence vote in October of next year.
If we want to significantly lower the awful number of lives lost to drugs in Scotland, this watershed report makes it quite apparent that it can never happen again, according to Mr. Ross.
Therefore, it is shameful that Nicola Sturgeon is moving forward with her plans for a further polarising independence referendum in 2019.
The record number of drug-related deaths should be combated using that time and resources, according to the statement.
David Strang, the taskforce’s chairman and a former chief constable, urges 139 specific steps to be implemented by the Scottish and UK governments in addition to other organisations in the study.
In addition to several recommended legal reforms, he wants safe drug use rooms to become a reality in the UK.
He wants the approach to drugs to shift from punishment to care.
Safe consumption areas, he claimed, could assist direct people into treatment but are not a “miracle cure” for addiction.
Mr. Strang urged the Scottish Government to develop an action plan within six months and added that construction on the first consumption rooms should start immediately.
The paper also discussed the Scottish government’s efforts thus far, saying that “many have drawn parallels between the present drug fatalities issue and the COVID-19 outbreak, which elicited an enormous Government response.”
According to the First Minister and Minister for Drug Policy, drug overdose deaths are Scotland’s second public health emergency.
We agree that this level of reaction to a terrible and unjustifiable loss of life is appropriate.
It’s crucial, though, that they are more than just empty words. The words must be followed up by deeds.
To define what a practical response to the drug-deaths problem entails, the Scottish Government should study foreign cases of public health emergencies.
The equalities law should be tightened to eliminate “any unfair division between drug dependency and other health issues,” among other suggested legislative improvements.
The report calls for additional work to shift views and states that “substantial cultural change” is required to lessen stigma and discrimination.
According to Mr. Strang, the taskforce thought about decriminalising drugs but decided it would ‘distract’ from the important issues they needed to address.
I guess what we feel is that Scotland isn’t ready for that yet, he said.
However, if you were to take that route, there would need to be substantial deliberation. It might be a journey we embark on.
According to the report, “much more financing” is required in addition to what the Scottish Government has previously promised to address drug-related fatalities.
Minister for Drug Policy Angela Constance stated: “Many of the recommendations made in earlier reports have already been put into action, including steps to lessen the pandemic’s effects and the extension of the police naloxone trial programme.
“Some are already underway, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, safer drug consumption facilities, drug-checking facilities, halting Friday liberations, and drug-checking facilities.
“Of course, there are some areas where we want to go far further, and implementing today’s proposals will be essential.
To better our understanding of harms in real-time so that we can strengthen our response, we have announced a new commitment of £1.1 million towards public health monitoring programmes.