Hansard

Thank you, Presiding Officer—my device is charging as I speak.

I remind members that we live in a time when the international drug market is changing profoundly. I think that all members are aware that a huge variety of substances is now available. A growing number of them are not classified in the drugs legislation, so responding to them is problematic.

It is understandable that most of us are increasingly concerned about the growing availability of substances that are sold as legal highs. We are discouraging the use of that term, because—unfortunately—it leads people to assume that they must be safe, when they are not. That is why the motion uses the term “new psychoactive substances”; we could also call them new drugs.

The new drugs are designed to produce similar effects to illegal drugs, such as ecstasy, but they fall outside the control of the United Kingdom Government’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. They are often labelled and sold as plant food or bath salts, or marked as not fit for human consumption. Those are all tactics used by sellers to avoid the law.

The substances are easily accessible. They can be bought online and on our high streets in so-called head shops. A survey by DrugScope found that the substances are also sold at petrol stations and in takeaways and newsagents. As new drugs, their health effects are completely unknown. We know that they can be harmful and that there are reports of people being admitted to hospital and sometimes—tragically—dying after taking them. To put it simply, whether or not a substance is controlled, it is impossible to know its content. Dangers are associated with every drug.

We have seen the events last weekend in Glasgow and Ayrshire. The police investigation continues and it would probably be inappropriate for us to discuss those events. I am sure that everybody agrees that our thoughts are with the families who have been affected.

I will put the new drugs into context as we consider the implications for policy and practice. The most commonly used drug in Scotland is still cannabis. There is a legacy of problem opiate use that stretches back decades, with which we are all—sadly—familiar.

Responding to the new drugs, like any other drug, will be an integral part of the overall drugs strategy in “The Road to Recovery”. The strategy is underpinned by a holistic and person-centred approach to treating drug use, regardless of the substances involved. Until now, most of the emphasis has been on opiate use, but we must remember that the strategy covers a great deal more than that.

Members who attended the drugs debate in November will be pleased to hear that my summary of the Government’s achievements will be swift. The rate of drug use among the general adult population has fallen since 2006 and drug use among young people is at its lowest level since 2002. Some of the battles are beginning to be won. We have dramatically reduced waiting times for drug treatment and maintained record investment in front-line drug services and support. We have moved into the third phase of delivering the strategy, which involves driving forward improvements in quality across drug services in Scotland. However, we cannot be complacent. We need to be mindful that different drugs bring different and new challenges.

Evidence from the United Nations and the European Union highlights the increased availability of the new drugs internationally. In 2012, the EU’s early warning system identified 73 new drugs—a number that has risen steadily over recent years. The new drugs present a constantly evolving challenge, not just because of the apparent ease with which they can be produced and subsequently tweaked, but because of their ease of supply and sale online. Technological advances in global communications have created an unregulated and open online marketplace for drugs. According to the EU, the number of online shops is growing, with 693 identified across Europe in 2012—the number will be much higher now—and I am aware that some members have experienced the problem in their constituencies. Across the world, Governments are grappling with the new challenge. Global problems need global solutions, and new psychoactive substances are increasingly on the agenda of international institutions such as the UN.

Although the control of drugs is a reserved issue, the challenges from the new substances are a concern to the Government. Last year, I hosted a national event at which I invited experts from enforcement, health, education, research and the third sector to share information and experiences of how the new substances are affecting Scotland. I was reassured to hear of the considerable knowledge that is available on new psychoactive substances and the valuable work that is already being undertaken across the country. It is clear that no sector can tackle the problem alone and that a collective and co-ordinated response is required.

Last year’s event was the first step towards further action. Informed by those discussions, we have taken action in four areas: tackling supply, preventing demand, enabling our workforce to respond, and understanding the scale of the issue. I will deal first with tackling supply. Aside from the UK Government’s temporary banning order and the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, there is no bespoke legislation available in Scotland to address the supply of new psychoactive substances. Police Scotland has been working with trading standards to explore the powers that are available under civil and criminal law, such as reckless conduct and trading standards powers to seize and test substances and take action against their sale.

We have been working with Police Scotland to review enforcement activity and will continue to explore the range of devolved powers that may be available to tackle the sale of new psychoactive substances, which would include planning and licensing powers. I welcome the Home Office’s announcement in December of a review of the legislative powers that are available to address the supply of the drugs. I have been asked to contribute to the review and will host a workshop for experts in enforcement from the police, trading standards and local government to inform Scotland’s response.

I turn to preventing demand. It is essential that we prevent drug use in the first place or stop its escalation through the timely provision of advice on drugs and their risks to all those who need it. That includes addressing the dangers of polydrug use, which increases the risks even more. Substance misuse education in schools is delivered through the health and wellbeing strand of the curriculum for excellence. Our know the score helpline and website offer free confidential advice on drugs, including new psychoactive substances. The website was refreshed in December to make it more user friendly and accessible by mobile phone. We will produce new leaflets and posters on new psychoactive substances for know the score to support services and to raise awareness of the dangers of the drugs. Starting tomorrow, we will also run Facebook adverts to raise awareness of the dangers of the drugs and to get people to visit the know the score website to get information.

Together with partners, we are providing teachers with resources to respond to the new drugs. Police Scotland receives funding from the Scottish Government to deliver choices for life, a substance misuse education programme for schoolchildren. In 2013, educational resources on the new drugs were developed for high-school children. This year, Crew is developing national educational resources for teachers and youth workers on new psychoactive substances and other stimulant drugs. A range of education work is already taking place.

Responding to any new drug and offering support that is person centred is the approach that underpins our whole drugs strategy. We are, therefore, investing in the development of the workforce to prepare them for the challenges ahead. To develop the capacity of drug and youth workers, since 2010 we have funded Crew to provide training and information on new drug trends to Scotland’s 30 alcohol and drug partnerships, as well as drugs services and other services.

The Scottish Drugs Forum has been commissioned to develop the capacity and quality of interventions around new psychoactive substances and stimulants in, for example, housing and employment services for young people. Last September, I was pleased to open the joint Scottish Drugs Forum and Crew conference on new drug trends in Scotland. I hope that members took time to read the information that the SDF and Crew provided for today’s debate.

The constant challenge of new substances affects the figures that we report. As a direct result of discussions at the event that I hosted last year, we have refreshed our data collection tools to help improve the information on new psychoactive substances, which will help us to further understand their prevalence and impact. The way in which we collect data on new drugs has also been considered in the consultation for the new integrated information system for drug and alcohol treatment and outcomes, which is led by the national health service’s Information Services Division.

In August, the annual drug deaths statistics, which are published by the National Records of Scotland, reported for the first time on drug deaths where new psychoactive substances were found in the body. The figures showed that, in 2012, new psychoactive substances were present in 47 drug deaths. In 32 of those cases, pathologists judged that such substances were directly implicated, and in five cases they were the only substances that were implicated. In the coming months, the next annual report from Scotland’s drug-related deaths database will provide analysis of the circumstances around deaths involving new psychoactive substances to identify risk factors and inform policy and practice.

We have made changes to the 2013 Scottish schools adolescent lifestyle and substance use survey, or SALSUS, which gathers information from schoolchildren on alcohol, drugs and tobacco, as well as to the next sweep of the Scottish crime and justice survey. National data is supplemented by organisations in the third sector, which collect data on drug trends that are observed by services and at music festivals. To strengthen all that work further, I will commission research on the prevalence and use of new psychoactive substances in Scotland.