A landmark bill that would allow people in Scotland to access appropriate treatment for addiction has been brought forward and formally introduced at the Scottish Parliament.
The Right to Recovery bill has been proposed by Scottish Conservative Leader, Douglas Ross and the legislation sets out a range of treatments that must be available to support people who are living with drug or alcohol addiction as a minimum.
The various treatments include residential rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation, stabilisation services, substitute prescribing services, residential detoxification and community-based detoxification.
The legislation would establish a statutory right for people with drug or alcohol addiction to commence treatment at an interval of no more than three weeks from a determination that an individual requires support.
The bill states that treatment is not able to be refused on the basis of cost, criminal record and mental illness.
Scotland remains the drug-deaths capital of Europe and this is a mark of national shame.
The Right to Recovery bill represents comprehensive action to robustly tackle this scandal and ensure vulnerable people who have an addiction to drugs can receive the help that they need.
Since the SNP assumed power at Holyrood in 2007, drug-related deaths in Scotland have experienced a considerable rise.
From 2007 to 2020, the total number of drug deaths on a yearly basis rose from 455 to 1,339.
In 2021, Scotland’s drug-deaths rate was almost three times higher than that for England and Wales combined at 243 per million population compared with 84.4 million.
This also represented the highest drug-deaths rate in Europe.
Whilst drug deaths in Scotland reduced from 1,339 in 2020 to 1,330 in 2021 and then to 1,050 in 2022, this was still more than double the total number of fatalities to occur in 2007.
On top of drug-related deaths, the number of fatalities caused by alcohol have sadly returned to a level not seen since 2008.
The most recent available statistics from 2022 found there was a total of 1,276 alcohol-specific deaths over the course of that year.
This was 31 more deaths than in 2021 and the highest number of alcohol-specific facilities in Scotland for 14 years.
The number of lives that are continuing to be tragically lost in Scotland to drug and alcohol addiction shows just how important it is for MSP’s to vote through the Right to Recovery bill.
The legislation that Douglas is proposing has been written and formulated in collaboration with frontline experts.
When the legislation was at the consultation phase, it received just short of 80 percent support including from a large number of recovery groups.
Decisive action is needed to protect the most vulnerable individuals in our communities and I was delighted to pledge my support for the Right to Recovery bill at Holyrood
To allow Right to Recovery to become law at the earliest possible opportunity, Scottish Conservatives are urging the SNP Government to back the bill and ensure that people who are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction can gain access to the required treatment.
