Drug experts attack SAD's crusade

The government's own drug advisors have joined the growing chorus of
criticism of Scotland Against Drugs.

The allparty campaign, which has received UKP4m of public money, has
been reprimanded for its "unhelpful" approach to combating drug abuse.

This latest broadside against SAD has come from the Scottish Advisory
Committee on Drug Misuse, the team of experts which helps the Scottish
Secretary draw up drugs policy.

A majority of the group's members have written to Donald Dewar warning
that: "It is our belief that Scotland Against Drugs has been, to say the
least, unhelpful in assisting the development of an efective response to
drug use in Scotland" a damning verdict on an initiative planned as a
countrywide antidrugs "crusade".

They have requested an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State to
outline their "concerns" about SAD's activities.

The "private and confidential" letter, which has been passed to Scotland
On Sunday, has been signed by nine of SACDM's 16 members. They include
health, education and social work experts, as well as drugs specialists
including Edinburgh psychiatrist Dr Judy Greenwood.

In addition, two of the nine are also members of the UKwide Advisory
Committee on Drug Misuse, which guides the UK government in London. One
of them, Greater Glasgow Health Board's respected addoictions chief Dr
Laurence Gruer, helped organise the letter.

One signatory said: "The 'just say no' approach, which SAD promotes, was
tried in Scotland from 19781985. We had an epidemic of drug use and the
spread of HIV and hepatitis".

Pragmatic risk reduction measures implemented first in Edinburgh and
then Glasgow, such as needle exchanges and mwthadone prescription, had
cut drugrelated crime and reduced drug fatalities.

SAD's "morally righteous, 'just say no', total abstentionist policy has
already been tried. It failed", he said.

The nine want to meet Dewar "to discuss how Scotland Against Drugs can
be effectively harnessed to the overall response to drug use in
Scotland". That is a veiled reference to the division which SAD has
sparked among Scotland's drug fighters with its vitriolic attacks on
groups practising "harm reduction", the liberal policy endorsed by the
Scottish Office of supporting rather than condemning drug users.

The letter claims SAD's recent Drugs Awareness Week proved counter
productive.

It "should have been an opportunity to explain to the public how
Scotland is responding to drug use and the effective collaboration which
is taking place", say the nine.

"Unfortunately the week has generated further confusion and acrimony,
and left many workers in the field feeling unfairly criticised and
undervalued".

Last week we revealed that senior police officers, health experts and
members of SAD's own advisory council had criticised the campaign during
meetings with both Dewar and Scottish Office health minister Sam
Galbraith.

SAD has called an emergency meeting on July 28 to discuss damaging
recent publicity.

The Scottish Office yesterday said Dewar is deciding whether to meet the
nine signatories, because not all members of SACDM backed the move. Four
of the 16 experts refused to sign, and three were on holiday.

SAD campaign director David Macauley an exofficio member of SACDM
said yesterday he was disappointed fellow members had not cantacted him
personally before writing to the Secretary of State.

The Scottish Office had also received letters praising SAD's work from
other drug agencies and local authority representatives, Macauley added.