Tag: addiction

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FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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Professor John Robertson OBA This is simply untrue. The drug deaths trend in Scotland has been downward for these last five years, from 1 339 in 2020 to 1 017. A 24.2% fall, by a quarter in only 5 years after more than 20 years of increasing, is very significant and suggests a successful strategy by government, which I’ll return to. Here is the evidence in two graphs, for 2020 and 2025 from Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, published on 2 September 2025: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2024/ The full NRS report contains further evidence that this is a confirmed downward trend and notably … Continue reading FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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Could there be a simple positive reason for the reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol and drugs treatment in Scotland – years of success in treatment programmes and Scot Gov success in initiatives on minimum pricing and opioid reversal kits?

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former opioid painkiller addict and ‘steady drinker‘ to this day From Public Health Scotland today: In Phase One of this investigation PHS conducted internal exploratory analysis to validate and describe changes in the numbers and characteristics of people accessing Tier 3 and 4 services between 2011/12 and 2021/22, using data from the Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy) and its predecessor, the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times (DATWT) database. In Phase Two of this investigation, Public Health Scotland presents a national-level examination of the same data sources. This quantitative analysis presents national data shared with … Continue reading Could there be a simple positive reason for the reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol and drugs treatment in Scotland – years of success in treatment programmes and Scot Gov success in initiatives on minimum pricing and opioid reversal kits?

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Sarwar Jr has the same grasp of medical science as RFK Jr before his conversion on measles vaccines and supports a criminal justice approach to drug abuse which does not reduce it and which carries significant harms for individuals and for all of us

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Professor John Robertson OBA Robert F Kennedy Jnr has at least had the intelligence to change his mind on measles vaccination but Sarwar Jr shows little sign of learning on drug abuse and regulation as he pursues populist, street-corner, theories in a vain attempt to undermine the SNP Conference and to come second in the 2026 Scottish election. In the Daily Record yesterday as the SNP Conference begins: Anas Sarwar says he does not support drug decriminalisation for personal use: The Scottish Labour leader said communities do not back “making it easier for people to get drugs and take drugs” … Continue reading Sarwar Jr has the same grasp of medical science as RFK Jr before his conversion on measles vaccines and supports a criminal justice approach to drug abuse which does not reduce it and which carries significant harms for individuals and for all of us

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Drug-related hospital admissions fall steadily by a third for two years to ease pressure on wards due to Scottish Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme, last and only time mentioned on BBC Scotland, by Reevel Alderson in 2016 before he was removed!

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​report July 2025 published today, we can see a monthly fluctuating but steady, long term falling trend, in drug-related hospital admissions, from around 210 per month in July 2023 to around 140 in 2025, a 33% fall which must be easing pressure on wards. While there will be more than one factor explaining this trend, this seems key: What is the Naxolone Initiative? After a pilot phase ending in 2018, the Scottish Government began to embed Naloxone opioid overdose reversal kits across NHS Scotland. Shortly after, the … Continue reading Drug-related hospital admissions fall steadily by a third for two years to ease pressure on wards due to Scottish Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme, last and only time mentioned on BBC Scotland, by Reevel Alderson in 2016 before he was removed!

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Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being reported by media

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland‘s Drug-related hospital statistics Scotland 2022 to 2023 on 16 April 2024 (Latest release): There were 9,663 drug-related hospital stays. The European Age-sex Standardised Rate (EASR) of drug-related hospital stays was 182 stays per 100,000 population. This rate decreased for a third consecutive year, from a peak of 283 per 100,000 population in 2019/20. The highest substance-specific stay rate (81 per 100,000 population) was for opioids (drugs similar … Continue reading Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being reported by media

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Suspected drug deaths fall dramatically by 30% in last 4 years as world-first SNP scheme bites

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: From Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​reports with the most recent released today: That gives a total of 1 001, down from 1 200 in 2023 and a peak of 1 411 in 2020. Suspected drug deaths based on police assessment at the scene of death have now fallen 29% in 4 years and 17% in the last year. Possible explanation? After a pilot phase ending in 2018, the Scottish Government began to embed Naloxone opioid overdose reversal kits across NHS Scotland. Shortly after, the kits which can be administered by anyone, were adopted … Continue reading Suspected drug deaths fall dramatically by 30% in last 4 years as world-first SNP scheme bites

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News you won’t hear – treatment orders for drug-dependent offenders imposed since 2019 plummet by half and success rates soar

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The emphasis of a DTTO is on drugs treatment as the primary means of reducing offending behaviour rather than the specific offence focused approach of a probation order. Specifically the objectives of a DTTO are to: • Reduce or eliminate an offender’s dependency or propensity to misuse drugs; • Achieve positive changes in the scale and frequency of drug related offending The Order introduces unique aspects e.g. drug testing and regular court reviews as features of a community disposal. The DTTO is a high tariff, highly invasive community disposal involving social work supervision. The order requires regular … Continue reading News you won’t hear – treatment orders for drug-dependent offenders imposed since 2019 plummet by half and success rates soar

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Researchers predict more than TWICE as many BBC Scotland staff than prisoners took drugs on Christmas Day

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From BBC Scotland today: Prisoners hospitalised after Christmas drug misuse – Five prisoners were taken to hospital on Christmas Day following widespread drug misuse at a Scottish prison. A total of 35 inmates at HMP Glenochil in Clackmannanshire were identified as being under the influence of drugs on 25 December, with five taken to hospital for treatment. Not in the BBC report: There are 670 prisoners in Glenochil, so less than 1% were hospitalised and 5% had taken ‘drugs’. In the quarter ending September 2024, 94.7% of the 357 prisoners referred for drug abuse problems were treated by NHS Scotland … Continue reading Researchers predict more than TWICE as many BBC Scotland staff than prisoners took drugs on Christmas Day

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Will this Labour MP praise her local hospitals as they treat 99% of drug and alcohol patients well within the target time?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA As we try to settle our stomachs after the recent Jackie Baillie/ Herald/ BBC Scotland attack on a Clydebank hospital, it occurred to me that my new local MP is very quiet. Her office is largely ignoring constituent enquiries so the above hope is no doubt in vain. In October 2024, Jackie Baillie, in the Scotsman, ‘accused [SNP] ministers of failing to get a grip on the crisis‘ on drug deaths. Would 99% of drug abuse patients being seen in the target time of 3 weeks do for a grip? Would the MP for Ayr, Carrick and … Continue reading Will this Labour MP praise her local hospitals as they treat 99% of drug and alcohol patients well within the target time?

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Unreported since – Drug treatment in Scotland target smashed for 14th time in a row as 94% of drug abusers wait three weeks or less for treatment

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024, published today, you can see that the 90% target of referrals starting treatment for problematic use of drugs has been been met since June 2021 and has now surged to 95.6% of the 10 919 referrals in one quarter starting treatment for drug abuse within three weeks. Of these, 54.2% (4 042) started within only one week. BBC Scotland has not reported on this service since 2021, when they ignored the overall data and bemoaned: Nearly 60% of services did not give addicts … Continue reading Unreported since – Drug treatment in Scotland target smashed for 14th time in a row as 94% of drug abusers wait three weeks or less for treatment