DEHUMANISING DRUG USERS WHO NEED HELP

There is a vicious tenor to the proposals by Duncan McNeil, MSP, to
withdraw treatment from drug addicts unless they agree not to have
children until they beat their habit, to make them attend compulsory
drug treatment services, and to make them take regular drug tests as
a condition of receiving benefits. The apparent hypocrisy surrounding
these proposals is deeply disquieting.

What's proposed dehumanises people who are in need of help and
support simply because their problems are seen as too difficult and
complex for society to deal with. These proposals unfairly single out
drug users for "hardline" treatment and are completely at odds with
the patient-centred approach which is a basic, accepted principle
applying to other groups in need of social and health care.

Why is the focus on stricture and punishment instead of on offering
the necessary resources, encouragement, patience and understanding to
help and support people who have come to - or been forced to, in the
absence of much else - rely on illegal drugs to get through their lives?

The chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action
Teams states that alcohol more than drugs represents the greatest
threat to young people in Scotland. Between 80,000 and 100,000
children in Scotland are affected by parental alcohol problems - up
to double the numbers affected by parental drug use. Quite rightly,
no-one is suggesting that we adopt such proposals for these parents,
or those with obesity or mental health issues, or those with serious
smoking problems - yet. Do we really care about child welfare, or is
this just an exercise in moral judgment?

These proposals smack of cynical expediency and a depressing lack of
vision. What's more, they conveniently overlook the role of poverty,
lack of employment and other strategic issues far removed from the
sphere of influence of the average drug user - yet which create the
bleak environment and conditions which encourage drug problems to proliferate.

Graeme McArthur

Scottish Drugs Forum, 139 Morrison Street, Edinburgh.