DRUGS ARE EVERYONE'S PROBLEM

EVERY human life is precious and every unnecessary death diminishes
the human race - even if that death is self-inflicted from an
overdose of heroin or morphine. So we should pause for reflection at
the news that the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland increased
by fully a quarter last year, to 421. Of those needless fatalities,
most were young men. The highest proportion of such drug deaths
occurred in the Greater Glasgow area.

Responding to the news, the justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill,
described drug abuse as "perhaps the most significant social problem
of our time". He is correct. The sad thing is that outside the
families and social groups immediately concerned, most of Scotland
can afford to ignore the problem, except - probably - to dismiss
these deaths as largely the fault of the drug addicts themselves. But
that is a short-sighted view, as well as a callous one.

Drug abuse shows no sign of going away. Indeed, this latest rise in
drug-related fatalities suggests precisely the opposite. But this
epidemic is not an isolated canker we can afford to ignore. British
troops are fighting and dying in combat against the Taleban in
Afghanistan, where the vast bulk of heroin comes from. Young drug
addicts in Scotland pay for their habit through crime, and the drug
pedlars who supply them use the cash to fund a host of other criminal
activities, from acquiring illegal guns to female sex trafficking.
Drugs are everyone's problem.

To date, the response has been to criminalise the drug addict and
attempt to clamp down on the supply of illegal narcotics. As a
stand-alone strategy, this is clearly not making the problem go away.
We will never cut off the supply as long as there is a demand. As
well as tackling the drug pushers, we need just as great an emphasis
on drug rehabilitation programmes, especially in prison. And it means
a vastly more rigorous and sustained programme of anti-drug
education: if we can change children's eating habits, surely we can
diminish their enthusiasm for mindless drug-taking.

This is easier said than done, and it will cost a lot of public money
- - possibly as much as UKP100 million extra. But studies indicate that
for every UKP1 invested in successful drug rehabilitation programmes,
some UKP10 is ultimately saved in policing, healthcare and other
social costs. That is a good rate of return and it should concentrate
minds in the Executive and Scottish Parliament into taking action.

It is all too easy to dismiss the latest drug fatalities as being
self-inflicted and not society's problem. That is not just a
heartless point of view - it is dangerously short-sighted.