Why does Scotland have such a massive drugs problem?

[TheTallOakTrees]

3 people die in Scotland every day due to drugs year.
The worse place in Europe.
Why?

We had a 17 year old the next town over die from a heroin overdose, a fucking 17 year old!?! Her mum's an addict too who's house was involved in a murder a couple of weeks ago between two other young addicts.

We live in a nice rural small town, there's plenty "party" drugs if you want to find them and clearly plenty of the hard stuff and absolutely fuck all support unless you can afford the local private rehab at 10k+ p/w.

@AgentProvocateur

I just typed a massive post and lost it!

I’ve wondered this for a long time. I see guys I was at school with who are now in their 50s and still in drugs. Is it a lack of rehab places? Is it a lack of social mobility that when you come out of rehab and go back to where your family and friends are, your dealers are there too? Is it too acceptable? There’s a lot of sympathy for drug users. Should they be legalised?

Evidence points to long term outpatient treatment having better outcomes than rehab but there is a stigma to opiate replacement medication and financial pressures often force people out of service sooner than they should be.

That lady who was 43, she really did look like an old lady. Very sad. My husband is working with lots of young people at the moment down south and he says snorting cocaine seems normal to quite a few of the lads. They binge drink and take drugs. Some will grow up and get past it but there will inevitably be those who never escape that way of life.

@AgentProvocateur I know a few people I went school with who have been in rehab multiple times for alcohol and drug addiction. Most of them go straight back on it or get kicked out for using. Once it gets a grip it’s hard to break the addiction although not impossible.

Pity the SNP don't pay more attention to this but they're too busy whining on about independence.

I think the blame has to lie largely with snp policy which has been to cut funding over many years then say ‘oh it’s awful, what a disgrace’ but not actually act to change things. They’ve taken their eye well and truly off the ball to focus on being woke and as ever it’s the most deprived in our communities who suffer

Trauma is at the root of addiction. As long as violent or neglectful parents exist there will be addicts.

@PicsInRed

Ah I think you've got it! NI in particular is well known for its total lack of religious sectarianism affecting peoples life chances and leading to feelings of hopelessness.

One issue, the point is the Scotland's more troubled areas have multiple layers of historical issues converging at one place, in single families. With no avenue to resist, perhaps some youth turn their frustration and despair inwards.

I feel like the answer some want to hear in these sorts of conversations is "oh, Scottish people are more genetically predisposed to becoming junkies amirite" and I find that really viscerally unpleasant - and obviously factually wrong.

1. So does NI
2. I don't think Scottish people are genetically predisposed to becoming junkies

@Ghislainedefeligonde do you know what bit really shocked me? Twice as many people have died of drugs than of Covid during the pandemic? Unless I got that wrong, someone please correct me if I misheard. Shocking statistic

And availability of cheap drugs feeds the problem.

Are the police or customs officers on the take? I'm guessing deaths are the tip of the iceberg, with vast numbers of users and huge profits rolling in.

@Libraryghost

That lady who was 43, she really did look like an old lady. Very sad. My husband is working with lots of young people at the moment down south and he says snorting cocaine seems normal to quite a few of the lads. They binge drink and take drugs. Some will grow up and get past it but there will inevitably be those who never escape that way of life.

Can anyone tell us where to find the clip of this lady?

@TheCanyon it was on ITV news. Maybe check their website. They usually post the day’s news stories.

www.itv.com/news/2021-07-30/sometimes-i-hope-i-dont-wake-up-the-drug-user-who-started-heroin-aged-11

I was half watching tv the other night . They were talking about how they had dramatically reduced alcohol intake. I have no idea what was implemented but hope something can be appliec to drugs

Scotland has always had a larger problem with street Valium being used in conjunction with heroin. Not only does it dramatically increase the risk of overdose but makes treatment harder and take longer. Valium taken in the doses that are common (hundreds of mg at a time) quite literally affects their ability to take in and process information so counseling takes longer. Withdrawal can be life threatening if mismanaged so they need to be weaned down gradually but because the quality of the drugs they buy are inconsistent it’s a hard process to get right (especially as they are forgetful). Rehabs aren’t really equipped to take people using at this level either so it falls to over stretched community services.
Drug treatment services are definitely underfunded and sadly politics are at play. Opiate replacement therapies (methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone) are well evidenced and if used properly are very successful but in some areas are badly managed. There is a real post code lottery to it due to inconsistencies at a health board level.

There is also a post code lottery to naloxone provision. Naloxone is a medication that can temporarily reverse overdose. If you want to help in a practical way to address drug deaths you can order a kit here: www.sfad.org.uk/support-services/take-home-naloxone

I do wonder if the disaster that is Police Scotland has been one contributory factor. I also wonder how figures compare with English towns and cities where there has been the loss of staple industries such as mining and shipbuilding.

@Starlightstarbright1

I was half watching tv the other night . They were talking about how they had dramatically reduced alcohol intake. I have no idea what was implemented but hope something can be appliec to drugs

It was the minimum unit pricing- a unit of alcohol cannot be sold for less than 50p now.

@Starlightstarbright1 serious question because I saw the programme about how they had reduced alcohol consumption by pricing it out of reach, I am wondering whether the alcoholics have just swapped their drug? Is Valium cheaper than alcohol?

[quote Libraryghost]@Starlightstarbright1 serious question because I saw the programme about how they had reduced alcohol consumption by pricing it out of reach, I am wondering whether the alcoholics have just swapped their drug? Is Valium cheaper than alcohol?[/quote]
That was pointed out at the time but hey, why listen?

I have drug casualties in my family.
We really aren't from violent or traumatic backgrounds. A bit up and down in temperament, a bit of ADD then some have had exposure to druggy environments and it seems to go woosh.
Noone involved has made it to reformed either which is depressing.
I am convinced there's a genetic element.

[quote Libraryghost]@TheCanyon it was on ITV news. Maybe check their website. They usually post the day’s news stories.[/quote]
Cheers @Libraryghost

@FlyingScott

We aren’t all running around smacked out our heads with needles hanging out of our feet and arms Aren’t you? Oh that’s disappointing 🤣

It’s not so hard to understand how a child is worried by something they hear on the news is it?
If course we’ll still be holidaying in Scotland.

It's a nice place to visit, honestly. Yes there are pockets of social deprivation in parts of Scotland but tourists are not normally affected directly by this.

I was walking along the towpath near where I live a few weekends ago with DH and our dog and saw a young woman walking towards us with a loosened tourniquet round her arm. It was around 7.45pm. First time I have witnessed something like this. And I have lived in Scotland all my life. I have no connection with the drugs world. Lots of people take drugs because they are trying to escape/run away from something traumatic. My dog would not walk any further, she was spooked by someone hidden further along in the undergrowth (possibly a friend of the woman we saw) so we had to turn about.

@RhonaRed

I have drug casualties in my family. We really aren't from violent or traumatic backgrounds. A bit up and down in temperament, a bit of ADD then some have had exposure to druggy environments and it seems to go woosh. Noone involved has made it to reformed either which is depressing. I am convinced there's a genetic element.

ADD Is associated with addiction because it makes it harder to control impulses and the drugs can also be seductive as a coping technique for it and a way to slow their mind

Scotland has had this problem since before devolution etc. In the 90s Edinburgh was the AIDS capital of Europe due to heroin use.

I think the question is related more to the number of deaths and not the level of drug use? Perhaps health care is worse? Or the drugs themselves are more dangerous? Or could it be that the Scots aren't as forthcoming about seeking help? More to it than deprivation etc. In fact Edinburgh is a rich area, house prices higher than parts of South England.

Might sound facetious but could it be the weather? Cold, wet and dark *most of the year. Shorter days than England. In northern Sweden they have a massive drink problem because of the weather.
*Compared to England

@felulageller

People develop addictions as a way of self medicating unresolved trauma.

This is the legacy of 80s Thatcherite policy on Scotland. The deaths now are the kids of the people put out of work and houses in 'deserts with windows' back then.

There is no universal provision of trauma therapy in the UK. That's the real problem.

I do not agree with this. People develop addictions because substances or behaviours are addictive. You experience withdrawal so take the substance to feel normal/better.