[Frank P]

What is happening North of the border, it appears that Scotland is having a few problems with drug use, I thought that with Sturgeon in charge it was the land of milk and honey...

Quote the BBC " The rate of drug deaths in Scotland is the highest in Europe and numbers are still on the rise, a report has said.

Drug-related deaths in Scotland have almost doubled in eight years, with 934 recorded in 2017 - up from 545 in 2009. "

The full article is here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48358404

 

[Basil]

Wee Jimmy can console herself that it's still better than Russia!

 

[Brian Dobbie]

Land of milk and honey??? More like the land of opioids and heroin.
Per head of population, Scotland has a higher death rate, from drugs, than the US of A.
However the SNP wanted to debate opening independence negotiations if SNP MP's were returned as a majority to either Edinburgh or London parliaments in the next elections. Surprisingly this wasn't brought forward for debate. No mention of the drugs problems as yet.
I expect Sturgeon will blame this on the Tories and Westminster and it can be cured by independence.

 

[Pat Kennedy]

Land of milk and honey??? More like the land of opioids and heroin.
Per head of population, Scotland has a higher death rate, from drugs, than the US of A.
However the SNP wanted to debate opening independence negotiations if SNP MP's were returned as a majority to either Edinburgh or London parliaments in the next elections. Surprisingly this wasn't brought forward for debate. No mention of the drugs problems as yet.
I expect Sturgeon will blame this on the Tories and Westminster and it can be cured by independence.

And knife crime in London Brian? Wouldn't have anything to do with Tory cuts to police numbers would it?

 

[lakercapt]

Land of milk and honey??? More like the land of opioids and heroin.
Per head of population, Scotland has a higher death rate, from drugs, than the US of A.
However the SNP wanted to debate opening independence negotiations if SNP MP's were returned as a majority to either Edinburgh or London parliaments in the next elections. Surprisingly this wasn't brought forward for debate. No mention of the drugs problems as yet.
I expect Sturgeon will blame this on the Tories and Westminster and it can be cured by independence.

Where did you get these figures, Brian ???
As an ex-pat, I find it offensive when people misquote facts and invent statistics.
When did the land of milk and honey become the status???
I do not follow what is happening in Scotland as I am far removed from the current events and politics but when I lived there many many years ago I was all in favour of Scotland becoming an independant nation again.

 

[Satanic Mechanic]

Bit of a heads up for you......its not just Scotland . Try half the world.

The real question is what do we do about it? its not just an SNP issue no matter how much some would want it to be, its a much bigger problem with society at large in the western world.

But in order to answer the question 'what do we do about it ?' first answer this one 'why do people feel the need to take drugs?'

As any ex junkie will tell you, getting off the skag is not so hard, its staying off and in order to do that they have to figure out why they were on it in the first place - by all accounts an extremely difficult and painful thing to do.

 

[Satanic Mechanic]

I expect Sturgeon will blame this on the Tories and Westminster and it can be cured by independence.

You might want to have a closer look at that - there a lot of potential things we could do but cant ourselves - we require westminster

 

[spongebob]

Well the BBC's news surely can't be Fake, what an inditement , and SM's observation that we should look at half of the world for similar degradation highlights the horrible facts but at the same time takes little NZ off the hook as being one of the worst according to the international measurers .
The more one hears and reads about this drug scourge the more such stately matters as Brexit and the EU become sidelines to the real social problems that are spreading like the wildfire through the Californian pleasure lands .
Most of we Joe Blows that have done the hard yards the old way and now enjoy three meals a day, an occasional pint and a warm bed can only gasp and say "where has this problem come from" but it's here and it's solving can only be done by international cooperation of a kind never before seen .

It is bound to worsen as technology forces more and more unimployment of the un skilled and even those with now redundant skills .
We have escaped the era, our kids have hopefully dodged it but the grandkids must be seeing and hearing about it from its grass roots .

Bob

 

[sparkie2182]

Hawaii........the most isolated islands on the planet.......minimal access to anywhere else on earth............famously idyllic lifestyle........with

.......Huge drug problems.

It ain't just Scotland

 

[King Ratt]

The SNP government raised the taxes on cheaper alcohol a year or so ago. It may now be cheaper to purchase herbs and substances than alcohol. I live in the Southwest of Scotland. It is cheaper for me to do a stock up on my alcohol by driving 50 miles to Carlisle and at the same time giving Mrs KR a day out at the Carlisle shops.

 

[expats]

I've 'no dog in this fight' but a Scottish spokesman pointed out that Scotland took radical action to fight knife crime (and won), they took radical action on alcohol abuse (and it seems to be working) they want to take radical action on drugs but, because of restrictions imposed by Westminster, they're prevented from doing so..

 

[Ken Wood]

The issue should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament as they want to take serious measures to tackle the problem. Most of the drug problems, at least in Northern Scotland, are caused by drug gangs from Liverpool and Manchester. The problem is not confined to Scotland.

 

[John N MacDonald]

Bit of a heads up for you......its not just Scotland . Try half the world.

The real question is what do we do about it? its not just an SNP issue no matter how much some would want it to be, its a much bigger problem with society at large in the western world.

But in order to answer the question 'what do we do about it ?' first answer this one 'why do people feel the need to take drugs?'

As any ex junkie will tell you, getting off the skag is not so hard, its staying off and in order to do that they have to figure out why they were on it in the first place - by all accounts an extremely difficult and painful thing to do.

In my opinion they should legalise most of these drugs.
Westminster is to blame to a degree with the deaths as the Scottish government want to make safe places for users to inject where they would be supervised by qualified medical staff and given clean needles. Westminster will not allow this!
I believe that poverty and misuse of drugs like heroin are related. I worked in the Possilpark area of Glasgow for quite a few years and heroin use there was hellish. Most of the users had never worked because there was no work for them. This area was one renowned for it's iron works, Mafarlanes Saracen foundry was probably the best known. Most of the folk that had work were not users, but not all.
It was well known that heroin was very impure as it would be cut by the dealers with stuff like toilet cleaner which I doubt was very good for anyones health! If it was legalised medical staff could prescribe the drug without all the additives and gradually wean them off the drug.
Drugs dealers have got extremely rich on the misfortune of some.

 

[garryNorton]

When I worked in Orkney you did not have to buy drugs but you could go into the fields to pick magic mushrooms and stew them and that acted the same as taking drugs

 

[tom roberts]

No answer to the drug problem? My answer fits,, the bring back capital punishment,then shoot the dealers,this will bring out the suppliers then shoot them,shoot the smugglers,so they have no suppliers ,and so on and then the worlds leaders get together and wage a proper war against the cartels controlling the growers and give the growers help in producing food ,coffee,etc.pie in the sky I know and expensive but one bullet will save countless humans from the mysery and a
So allow hospitals etc to treat people who like me abhor drugs and not waste millions on addicts who mostly chose that way of life.

 

[Satanic Mechanic]

No answer to the drug problem? My answer fits,, the bring back capital punishment,then shoot the dealers,this will bring out the suppliers then shoot them,shoot the smugglers,so they have no suppliers ,and so on and then the worlds leaders get together and wage a proper war against the cartels controlling the growers and give the growers help in producing food ,coffee,etc.pie in the sky I know and expensive but one bullet will save countless humans from the mysery and a
So allow hospitals etc to treat people who like me abhor drugs and not waste millions on addicts who mostly chose that way of life.

You ever considered a job in equine medicine

 

[R651400]

Anyone under the impression the Holyrood government can influence Scotland's drug problem should look again.
Police Scotland's drug enforcement department abbrev SCDEA is presently defunct and under investigation by the London Met for a very serious cover-up.
Scotland's Independence the only answer.

 

[sparkie2182]

............. Not long to wait.

 

[Varley]

Anyone under the impression the Holyrood government can influence Scotland's drug problem should look again.
Police Scotland's drug enforcement department abbrev SCDEA is presently defunct and under investigation by the London Met for a very serious cover-up.
Scotland's Independence the only answer.

Non sequitur surely. Holyrood covers up. Independence is to cover up the cover up? Strange answer.

 

[Ken Wood]

Seems strange that this is a time of near record employment. However, poverty amongst the population is increasing. The Government (Westminster) has an obsession about reducing benefits to force people into work, whether or not they are fit to work. Suicide rates are increasing among these unemployed people, hardly surprising when they are switched to universal credit, paid in arrears, so no income for at least sis to eight weeks. Even then, they cannot depend on it to arrive on time, or how much they will get. I have personal experience of this, as my daughter is ill and unable to work.
So, no income, rent in arrears, bills to pay and food to buy. Hardly surprising some turn to drugs or commit suicide. My daughter is lucky, we were in a position to help her. Others are not so lucky.