SCOTLAND’S strategy to tackle drugs is to be “refreshed” as drug-related deaths continue to rise. Work is also being done to look at ways to encourage older users into addiction services.
The moves come as a report revealed rising inequality in the 1980s put a cohort of poorer males born between 1960 and 1980 at increased risk of drug deaths.
Drug-related deaths reached an all-time record of 706 in 2015 — the latest year for which figures are available.
The number was up on 613 in 2014 and 527 in 2013, with the median age of those who died rising to 41 in 2015, up from about 30 to 36 in the previous decade.
Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell has asked for those involved in treatment services to come forward with their views on how changes can be made to the 2008 Road to Recovery strategy.
Meanwhile, a joint initiative between the Scottish Government and Scottish Drugs Forum will examine ways to engage with older drug users, encourage them into services and keep them in treatment.
Campbell said: “I’m proud of what the Road to Recovery strategy has achieved. In Scotland, drug-taking in the general adult population is falling and drug-taking levels among young people remain low.
“However, the nature of Scotland’s drug problem is changing and we need to adapt services to meet the needs of those most at risk, who we know face complex and wide-ranging social and medical issues.
“In setting out our plans to refresh the existing strategy, I’m encouraging everyone involved in treatment services to think about how they can make changes at a local level.
“There is also a collective need to challenge the stigma of addiction and build services based on respect and dignity as well as clinical need. I look forward to hearing views from across the sector in the coming months as we work together to tackle the evolving and complex needs of those who suffer from problem drug misuse.”
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