PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE PUBLISHES HARD-HITTING REPORT ON DRUG MISUSE AND DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES

Problem drug use in Scotland is inextricably linked to extreme forms of social exclusion, including homelessness, persistent offending and street prostitution, says a hard-hitting report published today by the Social Inclusion Committee.

And evidence shows that the link between drugs and deprivation has become so strong that drug related hospital admissions in Scotland's poorest areas are now seventeen times higher than in affluent areas.

Deputy Convener Fiona Hyslop said:

"Extensive evidence from our inquiry demonstrates beyond all doubt that there is a clear link between drug misuse and social deprivation. While this may appear obvious to some observers, it is also clear that drug service provision and Executive strategy does not take full account of this fundamental link.

"Over the past decade, drugs have become more and more prevalent amongst our most excluded members of society. And the problem is not simply confined to deprived urban areas - evidence from Fife and Ayrshire shows rural areas too are increasingly affected.

"Data produced by the Scottish Health Service shows that drug-related hospital admissions rates are on average seventeen times higher in deprived areas than they are for people living in the most affluent communities. However, even greater extremes exist. If you compare parts of Greater Glasgow by postcode, admission rates can be up to two hundred times higher in the worst affected neighbourhoods.

"The links between social exclusion and drug misuse are not just geographical. Time and again our statistics show a bleak concentration of drugs misuse amongst our most vulnerable and excluded citizens. All too frequently, homeless people, street prostitutes and offenders appear in our evidence as showing signs of chaotic substance abuse.

"Our report makes 36 recommendations in total covering the following areas:

• community regeneration;
• engaging communities;
• treatment / care for people with serious drug problems;
• rehabilitation;
• female drug users;
• criminal justice.

"We welcome the recent announcement of extra money, over the next three years, aimed at drug misuse in disadvantaged communities. However, our committee is surprised that the Executive does not take into account the link between deprivation and drugs when allocating money to Drug Action Teams and Health Boards.

"In view of the scale of Scotland's drug problem, our committee has concluded that significant and sustained investment will be required in the longer term which specifically sets out to tackle drugs and social exclusion simultaneously."

The following statistics and evidence are contained in the committee's report:

Extreme social exclusion: drugs, money and crime

• Problem drug use in Scotland is inextricably linked with other extreme forms of social exclusion, notably homelessness, persistent offending and street prostitution.
• The Committee is of the view that many of the most damaging consequences of problem drug use to the individual or the community result not from the drugs themselves, but from the misuser's incessant need for money to buy them. Addicts spending £50 a day on drugs need to raise more than £18,000 a year to sustain their habit and the preoccupation with finding money for drugs leads to crime - theft, fraud, drug dealing and prostitution.
• There were an estimated 20,000 drug injectors in Scotland in 1994 and the trends since then point to there being as many as 30,000 now. That suggests drug injectors alone are spending about £540 million on drugs each year. A recent study of the economics of drug injecting in Glasgow estimated that drug addicts were stealing property to the value of over £190 million every year

Spread of Hepatitis C

• It is now clear that about 80% of current injectors have been infected with Hepatitis C. Based on a conservative estimate of 20,000 current injectors in Scotland and one to three ex-injectors for every current one, there could be as many as 16 - 48,000 people with hepatitis C across the country.

Offenders

• Tests of urine samples provided by arrestees in police custody in Glasgow and Fife proved positive for illegal drugs in 71% of cases, with 31% testing positive for opiates. Recent unpublished surveys of prisoners entering several Scottish prisons indicate that over 80% have been using illegal drugs.
• Leaving prison is a particularly dangerous time. Overdose is much more likely and can be fatal. In the first nine months of 1999, 24% of the 63 overdose related deaths of drug misusers in Greater Glasgow occurred within two weeks of release from prison and in more than half of these, within four days

Street prostitutes

• Across Scotland, around a quarter to one third of drug injectors are women… street prostitution is particularly common in Glasgow but also occurs in other urban areas of Scotland. Base 75 is the joint health and social care service for prostitutes that operates six nights a week in the red light area of Glasgow. Since 1995, 1,140 women have registered with the service. Of these over 90% are drug injectors.

Homeless problem drug users

• The link between problem drug use and homelessness has been confirmed by a recent survey by the Office for National Statistics of a representative sample of 225 homeless people in Glasgow. This has shown that 56% of those under 35 in the sample were addicted to drugs, with heroin being the most common.

Has the problem been getting worse in the past five years

• Between 1990 and 1999 acute general admissions for drug misuse rose from 944 to 4,234… further evidence comes from reports on drug-related overdose deaths. Deaths amongst people who are known or are suspected to be drug dependent have risen from 139 in 1994 to 227 in 1999. The number of new clients or patients attending drug misuse services in Scotland has risen more than three-fold from 2980 in 1992/3 to 9500 in 1998/99
• In some urban areas, an already well-entrenched problem is continuing to expand. For instance, Strathclyde Police reports recent growth in the use of crack-cocaine by problem drug users in Glasgow. Lothian and Borders Police have reported big increases in heroin-related offences in the past two years and the Homeless Outreach Project in Edinburgh reported "an explosion in availability of heroin to homeless people in Edinburgh in the past five months."
• The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain refers to a survey of practices in Scotland which shows that in 1995 61% of pharmacies dispensed medication for the management of problem drug use and approximately 55% of Scottish pharmacies were dispensing methadone.
• In smaller towns and rural areas that were relatively unaffected ten years ago, drug misuse among young people has been increasing rapidly. Levenmouth in Fife, Saltcoats in Ayrshire and Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire are but three examples

The committee undertook fact-finding visits to the following places and areas during their inquiry process: Edinburgh, Glasgow (including Barlinnie), Grampian, Ayrshire, Fife and Dublin.

BACKGROUND NOTES The full text of the committee's report is available on the Parliament's website.