It doesn’t take a genius to work out the war on drugs isn’t working, you just need to see the lives lost and the communities ravaged to realise that.
So if you are in a losing battle, surely the right thing to do is change tactics.
This is why news Aberdeen has applied to be one of the first cities in Scotland to have a drug testing centre should be warmly welcomed.
Alcohol And Drugs Action (ADA) has applied for a Home Office licence to be part of a pioneering Scottish drug-checking pilot, which will also involve Glasgow and Dundee.
The idea is simple. Those taking illegal drugs can go to the centre for a safety check on what they want to consume so they know exactly what it contains.
The aim is to prevent overdoses and death – and that’s an ideal no one can rail against.
Sure, there will be those who argue this is just encouraging drug use. But it will also save lives.
Drug safety centre could save lives
Not only that, it will be a point of contact between drug users and the agencies who can help them out of their spiral of addiction and misery and the crime and chaos that follows with it.
And let’s not lose sight of the fact those in the grip of drugs aren’t “junkies”, they are people. A father or mother, son or daughter, a colleague, a friend. Their life choices shouldn’t result in losing their lives if that can be prevented.
Many of them are also in need of an outstretched hand of help and understanding, not the full force of the judicial system crashing in on them.
Slowly, but surely, Scottish society is coming round to the idea that the drugs epidemic we face is not a law and order issue, but a societal one.
One that requires compassion and a willingness to engage with and to help those who clearly need it.
Jail is the last place they need to be
Unfortunately, the issue still attracts the flog ‘em and hang ‘em brigade who would throw every drug user in jail, which is the last place they need to be.
The emotive nature of all of this reared its head when there was a refusal from the Home Office to even countenance the idea of drug consumption rooms in Scotland where users can inject safely under professional supervision.
Thanks to a hard-fought campaign, backed by evidence from more than 100 similar facilities worldwide that showed beyond doubt, they save lives and even reduce overall costs to health services, the go-ahead was given for a drug room in Glasgow.
Ideally, we should have one in every city – yes, here in Aberdeen too – where professionals can oversee drug use safely, keeping people out of shooting galleries or doorways or kirkyards.
And at the same time, they can link them to the services that can get them back on their feet.
A drug-checking centre would be a stepping stone towards that and even more considered and concrete ways of keeping people who use drugs safe.
If even one life is saved it will be worth it.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired
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