Dundee must get its own detox and rehab centres to save the city from further drugs tragedy, says a community activist.
Stella Carrington said it is wrong that Dundee is the only major city in Scotland without the dedicated facilities when it is the country’s drugs death capital.
Ms Carrington, who has campaigned for more than a decade for a drugs policy revolution, said heroin should be more widely available on prescription and called on the city to fast-track the opening of injection rooms.
“We know what is required to wage war on substance misuse – safe injection rooms, decriminalise cannabis and prescription heroin,” said the Dundee Citizen of the Year and president of the Charleston Residents’ Association.
“I would go as far as calling for detox and rehabilitation centres. Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow have them, why not Dundee?
“We need the people of Dundee to demand these services, considering we have the highest number of deaths from substance misuse in Scotland.”
Last week, Nicola Sturgeon backed fix rooms as she called for politicians to have the courage for a new approach to drugs, even though it could trigger a public backlash.
The First Minster told Holyrood on Thursday: “On this issue there is always a need for new and bold thinking and we should try and come together and do that and be prepared to sometimes do things that may be controversial and may in some areas may be unpopular.
“But where there is an evidence base for them, we should have the courage to do them.”
There were 38 drug-related deaths in the city in 2016, according to National Records of Scotland.
