FIGURES SHOW HEROIN USE STILL RISING

The North-east is still in the grip of a drugs crisis which shows no sign
of abating, according to figures released yesterday.

Scottish Executive drugs misuse figures for 1998-1999 reveal there were
nearly 1,000 new heroin users recorded in Aberdeen last year.

They also confirm there were 31 deaths due to drug misuse in Grampian as a
whole in 1998-1999, the highest number reported since 1996.

And the amount of injecting drug users infected with Hepatitis B in the
region more than doubled from 25 in 1997-1998 to 54 in 1998-1999.

The Scottish Executive immediately came under fire following the
publication of the statistics which reveal that Scotland's grim toll of
drugs deaths last year stands at almost 300, a situation of considerable
concern to Grampian Police.

Conservative drugs spokeswoman Lyndsay McIntosh made renewed calls for the
executive to implement a zero tolerance approach and tougher policing
measures.

The executive's Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 1999 show that heroin
amounted to 63% of new drug misuse cases across Scotland in 1998-1999.
During that year there were 905 new cases of individuals reported as heroin
users in Aberdeen City, 167 in Aberdeenshire, 39 in Highlands and 38 in Moray.

It also makes clear that a significant amount of heroin users in the
Grampian area are continuing to share needles and risk spreading HIV and
hepatitis B and C.

Depute justice minister Angus Mackay said: "Unfortunately we are seeing
more drug use, and more drug related deaths.

"We cannot escape the fact that drugs cause unnecessary and tragic pain and
loss for drug users, families and communities."

Mr Mackay added that the executive was approaching the issue "head on" with
prevention, care, treatment and enforcement measures.

"We've set up the Drugs Enforcement Agency to fight drugs crime. We're
setting up a Prevention and Effectiveness Unit and we're drawing up a
programme of drug misuse research to ensure services are based on what
actually works."

But Mrs McIntosh said the statistics cast a shadow over the future of
Scotland's youngsters.

"It gives us all a very clear message, we need less tolerance of drugs, not
more. We need tougher enforcement, not softer policing. We need a zero
tolerance approach and an end to all excuses," she said.

The latest figures show a sudden increase in the number of heroin users,
despite a consistent decrease over the previous three years.

In 1996 there were 30 drug-related deaths. That figure fell to 28 in 1997
and dropped further by one person in 1998.

Chief Superintendent Keith Wilkins from Grampian Police said the latest
figures were of considerable concern to the force.

"Obviously the situation in the North-east of Scotland is still one that
causes Grampian Police considerable concern and there is an awful lot of
work we still need to do," he said.

"We employ a fairly big enforcement approach but we are also trying to look
at the long-term approach to work in tandem with that, involving education
and trying to get the message across to youngsters before they become the
target of drug users."