Tag: drugs

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Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: Drug-related data can vary seasonally, so me comparing the same quarter, in this case June-August, gives a more accurate measure of trends. First, on drug deaths: In the latest period (3 June to 25 August 2024), the total number of suspected drug deaths was 225, averaging 19 per week. The total number of deaths was 10% lower than the previous quarter (249), 13% lower than the same period in 2022 (258) and 25% lower than in 2023 (301). A suspected drug death is a death where controlled drugs are suspected of being … Continue reading Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

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Meet the County Lines drug gang who used children to peddle heroin and cocaine from the Midlands but BBC Scotland and the supposedly intelligent press will not tell you about

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From Birmingham Live, today: Drugs are a problem police continue to tackle as dangerous substances remain on our streets. And one way criminals are flooding towns with the likes of heroin and cocaine is through county lines. The system involves drug dealers establishing networks for the supply and distribution of illegal substances usually to towns and rural areas. They are notorious for using young and vulnerable people as a means to do this. The group ran drugs lines known as the AB Line and the Jay Line. Asante ran his criminal business from Wolverhampton and Stafford. He was assisted with … Continue reading Meet the County Lines drug gang who used children to peddle heroin and cocaine from the Midlands but BBC Scotland and the supposedly intelligent press will not tell you about

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Drug gangs from Aylesbury and Liverpool exploiting children and vulnerable adults in Scotland plead guilty to Modern Day Slavery but our media concentrate on ‘Scotland’s Tony Soprano’

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From Merseyside Police yesterday: Three people who exploited children to sell drugs as part of a county lines network have been sentenced today (Thursday 10 October). James O’Keefe, 23, of no fixed address, Kerry Russell, 39, of Titherington Way, Liverpool and Ruby O’Keefe, 19, of Colby Close, Liverpool were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today (Thursday 10 October). Officers from Merseyside’s Project Medusa, the initiative to tackle county lines drug dealing and child criminal exploitation across the country, began an investigation into James O’Keefe in November 2023. Despite being in prison for previous offences, detectives established that James O’Keefe was … Continue reading Drug gangs from Aylesbury and Liverpool exploiting children and vulnerable adults in Scotland plead guilty to Modern Day Slavery but our media concentrate on ‘Scotland’s Tony Soprano’

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In which Scottish town did Buckinghamshire County Lines drug gang exploit a vulnerable woman – media silence on more than 300 cases

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Only from Yahoo! News today: A 20-year-old man [above] has been jailed for over a year after ferrying class-A drugs between Aylesbury and Scotland and ‘cuckooing’ a vulnerable woman at her home. Tyrees Kuba-Ngoma, of Friarscroft Way in Aylesbury, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin at Aylesbury Crown Court last Tuesday, October 1. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/man-20-jailed-cuckooing-vulnerable-170642139.html Police Scotland estimate more than 300 homes in Scotland have vulnerable adults being cuckooed by English County Lines gangs. BBC Scotland have twice, in 2021 and 2024, referred to this practice but on neither occasion did they indicate the English city from … Continue reading In which Scottish town did Buckinghamshire County Lines drug gang exploit a vulnerable woman – media silence on more than 300 cases

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Up to 80% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, 93% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

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From Public Health Scotland’s National drug related death database (Scotland)Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020, published today, it’s clear that Scotland’s drug deaths are to a very large extent a legacy of the Labour and Tory governments that ruled the UK and devolved Scotland for decades before the SNP came into power, with limited powers over drug use, in 2007. Treatment for these users has been, for years, top notch, with above the 90% target seen within three weeks or less: Between 1 April and 30 June 2024, 7,361 referrals to community-based services started treatment. Of these referrals, … Continue reading Up to 80% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, 93% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

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English newspaper looks 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today has: Australian demand for overdose drug naloxone more than doubles after spike in synthetic opioid deaths but no mention of Scotland in the report. Why might it have? This: Scotland was the first country in the world [2011] to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose. https://www.gov.scot/policies/alcohol-and-drugs/naloxone-provision/#:~:text=Scotland%20was%20the%20first%20country,years%20from%202011%20to%202016. From Public Health Scotland in August 2021: Since the establishment of the National Naloxone Programme in 2011/12:• 74,629 THN kits have been issued by services based in the community.• 8,793 THN kits have been issued by prisons … Continue reading English newspaper looks 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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Will BBC Scotland start reporting ‘County Lines’ gangs after finding one ‘kind of’ Scottish guy involved?

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Top row, second left, him! in the Northamptonshire Telegraph yesterday: Corby county lines drug gang member James Carroll convicted for part in crack cocaine and heroin trade in Corby and Kettering. A gang who ran drugs lines supplying heroin and cocaine have been convicted – with their ringleader being found guilty of exploiting children to operate his trade, helped by a man from Corby. James Carroll, aged 46, of Dumble Close, Corby was convicted of facilitating travel for a child for the purpose of exploitation. This is the AB drugs gang running drugs using child carriers as far north as … Continue reading Will BBC Scotland start reporting ‘County Lines’ gangs after finding one ‘kind of’ Scottish guy involved?

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Unique SNP drug death prevention scheme reduces load on hospitals for 4th quarter in a row and down by one third in only one year

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By Professor John Robertson Why is the above happening? In major part for this reason: 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 by Police Scotland, ambulances and prisons, and made available to libraries, community centres, taxi drivers and to the friends and relatives of users. Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose. Anyone in Scotland can … Continue reading Unique SNP drug death prevention scheme reduces load on hospitals for 4th quarter in a row and down by one third in only one year

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Before they begin to rejoice that ‘suspected’ drug deaths are up, real drug deaths are plummeting

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‘Suspected’ drug deaths based on police reports from crime scenes, with no blood tests, are up 7% on the previous quarter. Expect a joyous media flutter on this and the SNP to be accused of betrayal. The actual, real, drug deaths figures for 2023 will not be published until August 2024 but the trend is abundantly clear, above. Why are they falling? Westminster is ultimately responsible for Scotland’s drug deaths Drug deaths fall by 21% in only one year as SNP policies begin to reverse long-term effects of decades of Tory/New Labour neglect Evidence emerges that significant drug deaths fall … Continue reading Before they begin to rejoice that ‘suspected’ drug deaths are up, real drug deaths are plummeting

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England follows Scotland’s world-leading life-saving overdose drug programme after three years of delay

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By stewartb On the UK and Health pages of The BBC News website this morning (14 May): ‘Life-saving overdose drug to be given without prescription’. It’s about extending of availability in England of naloxone, the drug given in an emergency to those at risk of death from an opioid overdose. The same story featured in news bulletins throughout Radio 4’s Today programme. Much praise for the UK government in taking this decision! No mention of Scotland’s world first in making naloxone widely available for emergency use. The Scottish Programme reported on TuS: Scotland was the first country in the world to implement … Continue reading England follows Scotland’s world-leading life-saving overdose drug programme after three years of delay