ANGER AT MOVE TO STOP DRUG USERS HAVING CHILDREN

LABOUR leaders prompted an angry reaction from drug workers yesterday
after it emerged that they were considering plans to prevent drug
addicts from having children until they kicked the habit.

The plans, which will be considered by the Scottish Labour Party for
its Holyrood manifesto next year, were dismissed as "cynical
expediency" and derided for showing "a depressing lack of vision" by
drug experts.

The proposals, drawn up by Labour MSP Duncan McNeil, would require
addicts to sign a "social contract", under which they would only get
benefits and methadone if they agreed not to have children while
addicted to drugs.

If addicts agree, but then breach the contract, they face having
their children taken into care, as well as the withdrawal of
treatment and benefits.

Mr McNeil also wants to make it easier for children to be removed
from the homes of addict parents.

While not as extreme as Mr McNeil's last proposal - that
contraceptives should be added to methadone - these latest plans do
represent an extension of the state's influence into personal liberty.

When Mr McNeil came up with his contraceptives plan, he was
immediately isolated by the First Minister, who made it clear he
would not even consider the suggestion.

This time, however, the reaction has been very different.

Instead of dismissing Mr McNeil's plans, the Labour leadership gave a
cautious welcome to his suggestion.

A spokesman for the First Minister said Mr McNeil's plans would be
considered by the party as part of its policy-making process and the
First Minister would study them properly before making a decision.

"This is Duncan's submission to that. It's the individual view of
Duncan McNeil MSP, but that's got as much legitimacy as anyone else's
view," he said.

"Over the past few years, we've a fairly strong record in tackling
drugs and anti-social behaviour. This is one suggestion that will be
considered."

Labour has been looking for populist and effective policies on law
and order for some time, aware that this approach goes down well with
the voters, and Mr McNeil's plan might help it find that aggressive edge.

It could be that the Labour leadership is simply waiting to see what
the reaction is to Mr McNeil's plans before rejecting them, but by
even suggesting that it might accept his idea, it ran into a hail of
criticism from drug workers.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Drugs Forum, which brings together a
range of different bodies working with drugs policy and information,
said the plans were "dehumanising".

She said it was wrong for the state to tell anyone not to have
children and worse to single out drug users for attack.

She said: "There is a vicious tenor to these proposals and the
apparent hypocrisy surrounding them 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 and accepted principle applying to other
groups in need of social and healthcare."

The spokeswoman said there were many more families affected by
serious drink problems than by drugs but no-one would suggest putting
them under pressure not to have children.

She said: "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."