HOW WE CAN WIN THIS WAR ON DRUGS

A Scottish Executive study estimates there are around 19,000 drug
addicts parked on methadone.

It is a well-known fact that methadone is more addictive that heroin,
yet this is virtually the only option open to many drug addicts across
Scotland. Essentially, the Scottish Executive is spending UKP11m a year
on publicly-funded drug addiction. Every pound spent on this so-called
harm reduction route is a pound not spent on rehabilitation and the
real fight against drugs.

I accept that as a transition from the chaos of heroin addiction to a
more structured existence, methadone may provide a bridge, but it is
not and never has been the panacea that some would like us to believe.

In fact, heroin addicts with clinical supervision can move from
addiction to being clean without the intervention of methadone.

A new approach is overdue. The harm reduction path is based on the
premise that taking an addict from chaos to structure reduces crime
and solves the problem.

It is not a path, it is a cul-de-sac. Many addicts on methadone still
use heroin and will offend to fund that usage.

It is not a solution, it is a management strategy.

Drug abuse threatens the very fabric of our society.

It destroys lives, tears families apart, leads to widespread and
recurring crime, and the disintegration of entire communities. Do we
really want to live in a society which consigns vulnerable individuals
to such a bleak future? Yet despite this scourge on our society, the
executive cannot even tell us how many rehabilitation places there are
in Scotland and where they are. The Drug Outcomes Research in Scotland
study by Professor Neil McKeganey of Glasgow University found that
most drug addicts who seek help do so because they want to become
clean and change their lifestyle, though current rehabilitation
policies are not designed to meet these goals. This lack of a coherent
strategy has meant that the drugs problem in Scotland is not being
given the political leadership it so desperately requires. Scotland
has become trapped in a spider's web of confusion over what is
acceptable, what is safe and what you can get away with. Yet the
message emanating from central government should be simple and clear:
drugs are dangerous, illegal and if you break the law consequences
will follow.

For those who find themselves addicted to such substances, it is
imperative that they are given the immediate support and
rehabilitation to help them end their addiction and go back to leading
a normal life. It should be the job of government to help such
individuals; instead, they are being trapped.

Particularly vulnerable are young people where worried parents have
nowhere to turn for actual help. I do not agree with Labour and the
Liberal Democrat passiveness which allows such a desperate situation
to go unchecked.

Instead, I want to see a radically different way of dealing with drug
addiction; a strategy that must start with the goal of ridding
Scotland of drugs altogether. Yes, this will be hard. Yes, this will
take time. But can we really afford not to set such a goal?

To achieve this aim we need a zero tolerance approach to
drugs.

I would promote greater use of the voluntary sector to develop clearer
and more effective messages to educate people about the dangers of
drug abuse. Politicians don't always know best and we need to utilise
the charitable and voluntary organisations that are currently working
so hard in this area. They have a wealth of expertise and experience
that is vital.

This would need to be coupled with improved and increased
rehabilitation to offer routes to abstinence. In England, there is a
central register of substance rehabilitation provision which allows
individuals and concerned friends and families instant access to what
is available and where they can get help. Scotland has no such register.

Excellent voluntary and charitable bodies providing abstinence and
rehabilitation in Scotland are being squeezed out of existence by
officialdom or are derided and dismissed by officialdom for doing well
what the state struggles to do at all.

For those convicted offenders who have drug problems, we would widen
the use of drug treatment and testing orders to more minor offenders
to address their habits at an earlier stage.

For drug dealers, we would ensure that they were dealt with on
indictment in the sheriff court at the least, thereby enabling stiffer
sentences.

We would also do more to eradicate drugs from our prisons, matching
this up with rehabilitation and linked support upon release.

What I have illustrated here is but the bones of a strategy to tackle
drugs in our society.

However, the real difference between the Scottish Conservatives and
the executive is that we are not prepared to give in and give up; we
are committed to doing what is necessary to win this war on drugs.

This is a speech to be delivered by Scottish Conservative leader
Annabel Goldie to the Maxie Richards Foundation Conference today.