Edinburgh sheriff warns of ebbing medical support for drug addicts

Scotland’s drug death total dropped slightly in 2021 but figures show that in Edinburgh they are actually rising.

Sheriff Frank Crowe said the increase was linked to a lack of assistance offered to those coming before him at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

“From my parochial perspective in Edinburgh, drug deaths rose from 92 to 109 last year,” he said. “It is an indicator of what can happen when support suddenly stops,” he said.

“No new drug treatment and testing orders can be made at Edinburgh Sheriff Court as the service does not have a doctor.”

Such orders were introduced as a way of helping individuals to reduce their drug use and offending. They see offenders agree to frequent drug tests and attend court once per month so that a sheriff can review their progress.

Writing in The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland, Sheriff Crowe said: “I managed many drug treatment and testing orders from 2002 to 2019 and believed in the system. When Covid came along and face-to-face interviews and regular testing became impossible, many addicts struggled even further.”

The sheriff also had concerns over new trends in drug use.

“In recent years I noticed a change, with addicts being moved on by dealers from heroin to the even more problematic crack cocaine and the growth of ‘street valium’ which could be acquired in vast quantities online,” he said,

“To this mix can be added strong medications such as OxyContin, Fentanyl and Gabapentin, which are illegally dealt and consumed, often with drastic results.”

Scotland’s drug misuse rate remains almost four times that of the UK as a whole. Its drug death rate is the highest anywhere in Europe.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said: “We have been notified by Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership that resourcing issues within its Drug Treatment and Testing Order Service have resulted in services being temporarily suspended. We will continue to work with partners to find a way forward.”