CALL TO EXPAND DRUG TESTING

POLICE chiefs believe random drug-testing in the workplace should be more
widely introduced to help combat increasing cocaine use north of the Border.

The calls came yesterday after a Scottish Executive report revealed that,
since 1996, cocaine use in Scotland has risen by 300 per cent, with crack
cocaine steadily replacing heroin as the scourge of towns and cities.

Aberdeen was revealed as the city with the biggest crack cocaine problem,
with Edinburgh and Glasgow following closely.

Dr Richard Simpson, the deputy justice minister, announced a dedicated
campaign to halt the spread of crack cocaine into towns and cities,
confirming the use of the drug was now the most troubling drugs issue for
the authorities.

He said: "We recognise there is a growing problem and we must take action
to address it now.

"We are investing ?128 million over the next three years in tackling drug
misuse and local agencies are already working to determine local need,
developing tailored strategies to tackle drug misuse in their area."

A Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency source said there was a firm belief
among police that random testing would be of huge benefit to their fight
against crime.

He said: "There is a great deal of belief among senior officers involved in
the fight against drugs that random drug-testing in the workplace would be
a very effective deterrent. When people's livelihoods are at stake they
might view drugs differently."

Last night Dr Kay Roberts, a drug misuse specialist with Greater Glasgow
Health Board and chairwoman of the drug misuse working group, called for
urgent action to halt the rise in use of the drug.

She said: "A number of reputable Scottish data sources show that levels of
crack and cocaine use are rising, although those for amphetamines are
falling. My working group has made a number of recommendations which, if
accepted and taken forward by the Executive, should enable Scotland to
address these problems before they become unmanageable."

Dr Simpson insisted ministers were "not complacent" about drug problems.

"I think we are more ahead of the heroin problem in the late-1980s
early-1990s. I think this time we are catching this at a much earlier
stage, but what this report does show is that there is a rising trend," he
said.

"It's also important to recognise that the number of registered individuals
using cocaine, either alone or in combination with other drugs, is probably
considerably smaller than the number of actual users out there."

He added: "There is an unmet need for information, both for the providers
of the services and for the users themselves."

Recently Professor Robert Kendell, Scotland's former chief medical officer,
said that the widespread introduction of drugs-testing in the workplace
would be a major weapon in the battle against the rising levels of
substance misuse throughout society.

Keith Hellawell, before he quit his post as the UK drugs tsar, said all
government workers, including Cabinet ministers, should agree to be tested.

Mr Hellawell urged the government to target misuse among white-collar
workers as a way of removing one of the biggest markets for dealers in
fashionable hard drugs.