From BBC Scotland’s Glenn Campbell at 06:27am and no doubt all day, we hear, headlined again, of Scotland’s drug deaths, the highest in Europe allegedly and watch an attempt to pin something on the First Minister.
Writing the tabloid headlines for them, Campbell notes that deaths have doubled in the years since Nicola Sturgeon took over.
The Conservatives get to demand a big expansion in services but escape without any reference to their role in denying the permission at UK-level, for the safe injection rooms that could save many lives. As for the historical background linking the high death rate which is nearly all among older users whose young lives were shattered by Thatcher’s destruction of industrial Scotland in the 1980s, well forget that. What about Labour’s decades long betrayal of those same communities? Don’t be silly. That never happened, in their world.
No doubt, the Reporting Scotland versions of this will be expanded but don’t expect to hear that the NHS Scotland drug treatment service consistently beats its 90% target for treatment within 3 weeks and that in September 2020 had treated 96.9% of the 3 977 seeking treatment within that demanding timescale.
Headlining this particular story, always comparing Scotland with other countries but rarely doing so when Scotland does better, as in Covid, almost always shielding the Tories as with Brexit and mostly personalising the story in the form of an SNP leader, to imply guilt of some kind, are editorial choices.
They do not report the news, they make the news.
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
IIRC the big impact to the increase in recent years is from benzos? If so, the problem has changed.
Our drug policy, especially due to the devolution settlement, is a reactive one—more people aren’t taking benzos because of Scottish Government policy!
So the nature of the problem has changed and now is the time to react and mitigate the issue. We have hindsight but we don’t actually have foresight 5 years ago that more people will be taking benzos.
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If you can be more clear this makes little sense.
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Dont the Tories control the borders, and customs?
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There are not enough ‘total abstinence’ proper rehabs. For people to be referred. It should be kept under SNHS care so Drs can refer people. Instead of social care. It has to be paid for privately or insurance. The councils will not fund it. There are no proper total abstinence rehab facilities. People are being put on methadone for years. Instead of a few £thousand to help people. More cost effective. It pays for itself.
MUP has cut consumption and early deaths.
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See my comment below and read John’s article again.
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Meanwhile, don’t pay the bbc tax
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Problem is many especially now, do pay it and watch, they are stuck at home, on their own, or in care homes, where they are sat in front of TV all day, and they believe they are being told through by the BBC and Sky and STV!
It’s why the English government made sure they kept complete control of broadcasting in Scotland. Broadcasting is a RESERVED power to Westminster. You could hardly make it up. Only independence can solve that in Scotland, simple.
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Meant told the truth, not through!
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Bang on the money
The only way to hurt them
Complaints are like water off a ducks back
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The Scottish government have repeatedly requested that the English government allow (!) them to save lives by setting up safe rooms for drug users, which have been proven in other countries to work, has been out and out rejected by Westminster, is absolutely disagraceful and obviously designed to create an even bigger problem, in order to blame the Scottish government, and shouting from the rooftops in the BritNat media.
As has been pointed out, borders and customs are controlled by Westminster.
Do we know how or if they are policing those in order to control the import of drugs into Scotland? Also English drugs gangs, who as previously reported, force their way into vulnerable peoples’ homes in Scotland’s rural areas, and set up drugs distribution from there, are they being stopped at the border? No.
It’s incredibly convenient to have people addicted to drugs, and to do nothing about it, the blame lies squarely at the EngGov’s door, it’s deliberate and sinister.
Drugs were a massive problem in Scotland for decades when the BritNat parties were
at the helm, did they care of do anything at all about it? Of course not, it suited them to have Scotlands young folk sitting in terrible housing, no prospects or opportunities, addicted to drugs, unable to protest at their country being robbed to the tune of £trillions by the next door neighbour.
Any drug problem in Scotland is a direct result of British Nationalist divide’ and rule, keeping the people poor, keep robbing them blind. It’s a legacy of BritNat rule, and they do not give one hoot about the lives of the people of Scotland.
The gaslighting of Scotland by the EngGov and their media is now rampant, and they are desperate to demonise and oust the First Minister. The lives of the people of Scotland are collateral, anyone who believes otherwise is seriously deluded.
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To support what John says about the impact of Thatcher here is a link to some academic research on the increasing health inequalities caused by Thatcherism – deliberately.
Click to access 12486.pdf
This, too.
https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,thatcherism-linked-with-drug-deaths-in-nhs-report_7472.htm
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The New York Times has a piece on the one safe injection space in Scotland – in a van. The man who runs the project says the SG should . permit safe injection rooms with an assurance that the illegality will be ignored.
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Here is some of what is being done in Scotland to address the problem of drugs.
https://www.stir.ac.uk/news/2020/august-2020-news/five-studies-launched-into-drug-related-harms-and-deaths/
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And in England and Wales…
“In its annual report on drug poisoning in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that 4,393 died in 2019 – yet another rise from 2018.
This is the highest number of drug-related deaths since records began, and the north-east of England has a significantly higher rate than other English regions – another trend that has continued. The most deprived communities have rates of deaths that are five-and-a-half times greater than the least deprived.”
More drug deaths in Scotland per capita because of greater levels of despair?
https://theconversation.com/drug-deaths-in-england-and-wales-rise-for-eighth-consecutive-year-145498
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The BBC and the rest of the British Nationalist media have been really ramping up the ‘Scotland bad’ narrative since the turn of the year. Much of the content is chosen to present ‘bad’ things, especially by selective use of data and ‘framing’. The factthat the same stories appear in so many media in almost the same terminology in all of the outlets on the same day, indicates a clearly co-ordinated strategy.
And,of course there are the usual ‘professionals’ – either trade union officers or ‘who want to remain anonymous’ – to tell us how things are ‘beyond breaking point’ and we have the vox pops from ‘this family in Fife’ or ‘a struggling parent’, or the many ‘tweets’ which they have solicited, and then the ‘experts’ like Hugh Pennington.
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Are trade union officers not professionals? Why the quotation marks?
“As well as practices like ‘fire and rehire’, millions of workers have had to endure life-threatening conditions. These include NHS staff, public transport and care home workers through to shop assistants, with many hundreds dying after being infected in the workplace. Even when told to self-isolate, many workers have been unable to do so due the woeful provision of statutory sick pay, which costs the average worker £800 over a two week period if they can’t work from home.
The failure to provide decent statutory pay for those self isolating is a direct cause for the massive surge in cases in recent months — millions face the inhumane choice of being covid-safe or being financially secure. Unions have been extremely vocal in calling for an increase in statutory sick pay.”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/state-trade-unions-uk/
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Oh John
You far too kind with your references
Regards Report and Make the News
Tis not news it is propaganda by one the planets most sophisticated state systems of
Such
News by its very definition is a report of actual events and all availability facts presented in context and balance
Every time when BBC commences their News
Bulletins they give put a impression of authority and power
All i see in the various presenters are Quislings, Lackeys,Lap dogs,pretendy intellectuals,egotists, spoilt and huffy little brats when they are challenged head on when thier
balloon is pricked
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One man and a van does not cut it. There are not enough total abstinence proper rehabs to rehabilitate people. They have not been funded properly. Drs cannot refer people under the SNHS. They should be privately/publicly funded. Councils will not fund it under social care. Putting people on methadone for years. A total waste of time and money. A short fix.
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Nicola announces money to be spent providing more proper total abstinence rehab beds/facilities and other services. That is what is needed.
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