Meeting of the Parliament 30 January 2020
I wish that we did not need to have this debate. Nothing that we can say will heal the hearts of people who are affected by the harms and losses that we are discussing. Every life that is lost to drugs or alcohol is a devastating tragedy. Families have heard politicians express sympathy for their loss many times. We respond with task forces, summits and strategies; in reply, people warn us, “You keep talking; we keep dying”.
I am not embarrassed to admit that I feel frightened and overwhelmed by the scale of this public health emergency, and I am not convinced that we even know its full extent. It is not the fault of one Government, one public body or one law or policy. The blame game must end today. We will not succeed in preventing and tackling the harms that are caused by alcohol and drugs by stubbornly sticking to our fixed party positions. We need to make urgent changes at UK and Scotland levels and in all our communities.
The Scottish Government motion is right to call for reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and it is regrettable that the Conservatives have lodged an amendment that would delete those words, making it impossible for us to vote with them. That is deeply frustrating, because the Conservative amendment rightly calls for substantial investment in residential rehabilitation.
My amendment sets out the need for adequate funding. Scottish Labour agrees with the Scottish Government on the need to explore legislative change, but we believe that we can be bolder with the powers that we already have. That is why we support the Liberal Democrat amendment. We back reform and the need for resources. That is the centre ground in the debate.
I think that we all agree on the need to urgently implement measures that will save lives. The evidence shows us what to do. People whose lives are gripped by substance use, those who work with them daily and people who are in various stages of recovery have told us what to do—many times.
When I led a members’ business debate in September 2019 on the scale of drug deaths, I pushed for the legal designation of a public health emergency. That was resisted by the Scottish Government and the task force. Four months on, there is recognition in the Government’s motion that it is a public health emergency. That acknowledgment is welcome, but a public health emergency demands immediate action.
I agree with Turning Point Scotland that the drug deaths task force is a welcome initiative but that it does not replace the need for agencies to demonstrate the actions that they are taking to reduce deaths.
Urgent and transparent action is needed. Anyone at high risk of a drug-related death must be fast-tracked into treatment and support services within 24 hours. Without that, people will continue to die in huge numbers.
If we are serious, we cannot accept a situation whereby the forensic toxicology service that analyses 90 per cent of Scotland’s suspected drug-related deaths is dysfunctional. That families have to wait several months to find out why their loved one died is cruel. Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs is supporting people through those agonising waits, but they have already suffered enough trauma. They do not deserve that additional distress.
The Scottish Drugs Forum is right to raise concerns about the potential impact of delayed toxicology and post-mortem reporting on the publication of official annual figures. We cannot afford to have huge gaps in knowledge about trends in substance use. I am sorry to say that previous assurances from the Lord Advocate have amounted to nothing. That is what happens in the absence of a clear, nationally co-ordinated response to this public health emergency.