WATCHDOG TO LOOK INTO EFFECT OF DRUGS POLICIES

Scotland's public spending watchdog is to investigate the
effectiveness of current anti-drugs policies as ministers prepare to
draw up a new strategy to tackle the problem, it emerged yesterday.

Audit Scotland has agreed to a request by the Scottish Government to
investigate whether the millions of pounds spent on helping addicts
kick their habit and other drugs services is having the desired
effect. The scale of the problem was again highlighted yesterday when
Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, revealed that a two-year-old
boy at an Edinburgh nursery had been caught showing other children how
to make a heroin "wrap".

Mr MacAskill said the incident showed there was a need for drugs
education to be introduced in nursery schools.

The rethink on drugs policy came after the Conservatives won key
concessions from the government ahead of last week's crucial Budget
vote.

The Tories want to see less use of methadone as a heroin substitute
and a greater emphasis placed on abstinence-based rehabilitation.

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing, who leads for the government
on drugs policy, yesterday said he wanted to see a cross-party
consensus at Holyrood on how to tackle Scotland's drugs problem.

Speaking on BBC Scotland's Politics Show, he said: "I'm determined to
keep party politics out of drugs policy because it's far too serious
for that. The numbers of children in families with a serious drug or
drink problem is far too high in Scotland. The number of people who
have been on methadone without the right opportunities to become
drug-free is too high."

Among the government's plans are the extension of Drug Testing and
Treatment Orders (DTTOs) in court sentences, as well as a crackdown on
drugs in prisons, with more testing of inmates.

However, Mr Ewing insisted he was not in favour of methadone being
removed entirely from drug treatment programmes, and warned that there
was "mixed evidence" about the effectiveness of abstinence-based measures.

"Methadone is on the way to recovery and we have to be very careful
about forcing people to come off it without medical advice. But we
need to create more opportunities such as rehabilitation centres,
where abstinence is a method employed."

The minister also said Audit Scotland's investigation would allow the
government to assess how public money could be better spent to get
people off drugs.

Mr Ewing's announcement was welcomed by Annabel Goldie, Scottish Tory
leader, who described it as a "watershed" in Scottish drugs policy.
She said: "The Scottish Government has agreed that we have to have a
new strategy and that has to focus on recovery."

Overall spending on Scotland's drug problem last year topped UKP431m, of
which UKP12m was spent on the methadone programme.

Originally introduced as a response to the spread of HIV and hepatitis
through dirty needles, methadone attracts polarised opinions.

The number of prescriptions for the heroin replacement reached 489,447
last year Prescribing rates have risen by 35% over the past five years.