While the Tory government goes for show with a conference about Scottish drug deaths based on zero consultation, the Scottish Government is already ‘underway’ with action.

Many of you will know that calling a conference or a summit on some issue of concern, may look good especially when you have the media onside, but often achieves little beyond delaying action.

We already have the research evidence for a taskforce to consider and to begin implementing in policy or, at the very least, piloting. Safe consumption rooms are known to reduce deaths, but these cannot be tried by the Scottish Government due to Westminster’s reserved control. Research evidence for their effectiveness is clear:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5685449/

Today, the Scottish Government announced the launches its plan for action, but I see no sign of media interest as they continue to gorge themselves on the Derek Mackay case and the story of discarded needles in Glasgow NOT infecting anyone so far, but we can always hope. See:

The primary role of the Drug Deaths Taskforce is to co-ordinate and drive action to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for people who use drugs, reducing the risk of harm and death. The Taskforce members are also involved in monitoring, supporting and facilitating the delivery of key commitments and actions set out in Rights, Respect and Recovery and the related Action Plan 2019-21. This work is underway, and Integration Authorities, ADPs and other organisations have already started making plans for short-to-medium term local strategies in advance of many of the recommendations that the Taskforce will be making. This paper provides direction from the Taskforce on the strategies which are known to help avoid drug deaths, and so we think it is vital that partners consider how far these are already being reflected in local planning for 2020/21.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/drug-deaths-taskforce-emergency-response-january-2020/

There is, of course, a deep irony in Tories trying to make political gains from a disaster of their own making. Scotland’s surge in drug deaths among ‘older’ users is primarily the consequence of the ‘Thatcherite’ neoliberal economic policies they introduced in the 1980s. See:

Thatcher government blamed for increase in Scottish drug deaths: Research carried out by Glasgow University and NHS Scotland found that, due to the high levels of unemployment in the early 1990s, drug related deaths among young people began to rise.

https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/11407/thatcher-government-blamed-increase-scottish-drug-deaths