SNP drugs minister Elena Whitham says she is keeping a “close eye” on Dundee after reports of rising cocaine use.
North East MSP Michael Marra told Holyrood he received reports from drugs workers that there had been of a “significant rise” in the number of people using crack cocaine.
He quizzed the government on whether the fall in drugs deaths in 2022 could be partly linked to changing substance use, with people substituting one drug for another.
Elena Whitham, the Scottish Government’s minister for drugs and alcohol policy, was updating MSPs after new statistics in August showed a fall in the number of drug related deaths.
A total of 1,051 drug linked deaths were reported in 2022 – down from 1,330 the previous year.
An addictive stimulant, crack is a smokable form of cocaine which gives the user a rapid, intense euphoria that quickly wears off.
The drug has a different impact on the body to opiates such as heroin, which prove deadly due to how they depress someone’s breathing.
Mr Marra quizzed the Scottish Government on how it is responding changing drug use habits across the country.
Ms Whitham said she shared concerns about the increasing use of cocaine and crack cocaine.
‘Rapid shift’ in drug use in Dundee
She told MSPs: “It’s interesting to see the very rapid shift that’s happened in Dundee and it’s somewhere I have a close eye on.
“It going to have to mean the services in Dundee will have to pivot to reflect cocaine use.
“There’s a lot of issues around cocaine that I’m going to be working with local areas for them to communicate to me what they are putting in place to respond to that.”
Mr Marra told The Courier that the “deeply concerning” trend required a rapid response.
“The increasing use of cocaine and crack cocaine in the city is deeply worrying,” he said.
Record of adapting Dundee addiction services ‘incredibly slow’
“Crack in particular is associated with violence and extreme anti social behaviour when it grips users and communities.
“Unfortunately the record of adapting addiction services in Dundee has been both incredibly slow and deeply ineffective with change resisted at all turns in our NHS and Social Care Partnership.
“We lost one chair of the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership because of frustration that services seemed to be impossible to reform.
“The minister’s ‘close eye’ is unlikely to be enough if the multi year waits for the local implementation of national standards is anything to go by.
“Dundee remains at the bottom of the league tables for those vital changes. The drugs minister must personally drive the change we need now.”
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