Hansard

I support the comments that you made earlier, Presiding Officer, and I welcome Iain Gray to his new post. The debate is a baptism of fire, if ever there was one. Issues such as drugs are of concern to communities and the Parliament should devote time to debates on them.

Ms Cunningham will not be surprised to learn that for obvious reasons, we cannot support her motion unamended. Similarly, I do not expect the SNP's unqualified support for our amendment. However, we can all be satisfied that the Executive has recognised—later rather than sooner—that the SNP and the Conservative party have identified a way forward. I am genuinely pleased that common sense has prevailed.

Although we made clear our support for drugs courts in our 1999 manifesto, I was grateful to be invited to a COSLA seminar, which was held earlier this year at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan Castle. I was the only MSP who attended that event, which was laid on to provide further information to people whose work is related to drug abuse. In anticipating an intervention from Roseanna Cunningham, I advise her that I met a member of her research team there, fresh from his appearance on "Question Time".

I was glad to have the chance to speak to experienced practitioners and judges in this comparatively new area and I am particularly indebted to Justine Walker for her advice and assistance in gaining access to the acknowledged leaders in the field. Although I do not always advocate that we should follow blindly everything that happens in the US, the experiences of other jurisdictions satisfy me that we have an opportunity to tackle the problem with a new impetus. I do not know whether the minister has seen some of the material that is available on the subject, but I look forward with glee to the adjustments that he will have to make to take account of cultural differences. People who have seen the video tapes of US drugs courts will know exactly what I mean.

We must tackle drug abuse. The extent of the problem is greater than most of our citizens recognise. As Roseanna Cunningham has eloquently highlighted the point, I do not propose to repeat it. Indeed, one of the consequences of such immediate agreement by the Executive is that we are left with very little to say. However, I want to read from a letter from a doctor in Fife that highlights the difficulties. The letter says:

"A few days ago, a new patient was assigned to my list. This person is an intravenous drug abuser who tells me that he is injecting himself six times a day with MST (an oral morphine tablet usually given to terminal cancer patients), which he prepares by sucking off the coating in his mouth, then dissolving the residue and injecting it into his veins.

He has already spent time in prison for theft, which was his way of supporting his £40 per day habit. He is now anxious to stop using drugs and attempt to get his life back in shape.

He came to me for help."

The letter says that the problem in Fife is that there is

"absolutely no consultant support for drug abusers"

and that the

"community drugs team . . . is hopelessly understaffed and ludicrously overworked with minimal resources".

The letter goes on to say that the drug user's case

"is only one of many. 47% of heroin users in Fife live in the Kirkcaldy/Levenmouth area. The total is in the hundreds and yet the resources to deal with this problem are minimal. GP's like myself are overwhelmed with no medical support whatsoever. The knock on effect on families is massive. The amount of shoplifting, burglary and other crime associated with drug abuse is significant.

You will be well aware that morale amongst GP's is at an all-time low for many reasons, We are snowed under by ever-increasing demand, which is not balanced by any significant shift in resources. Early hospital discharges and shortages of beds mean that more and more ill patients are kept in the community with a corresponding increase in GP workload. Patient demand continues to increase in the "instant-service" culture. We find it hard to accept that the government sees us as anything other than a cheap option. GPs have continued to soak up the work, but have not received any significant increase in resources to help."

I should pay tribute to the Scottish Parliament information centre for its research document on the subject, which is a first-class piece of work. Those who have not read it should take a look at it.

The letter from which I quoted outlines what the issue is all about. I look forward to hearing the details of implementation of drugs courts and I hope that we can build on the genuine cross-party consensus that supports their introduction.

I move amendment S1M-1303.1, to leave out from "with a view" to end and insert:

"based on the aims laid out in the 1999 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Election Manifesto."