Fall in heroin and valium misuse

Estimating the National and Local Prevalence of Problem Drug Use in Scotland, 2003 found that the estimated number of people misusing opiates and/or benzodiazepines had fallen from 55,800 in 2000 - the first year for which a reliable estimate was established - to 51,582 in 2003, a fall of 7.6 per cent.

Deputy Justice Minister at the time Hugh Henry said:

"The research published today shows a welcome fall in the estimated number of Scots who are taking particularly damaging drugs like heroin and valium.

It is particularly encouraging to see a decrease nationally in the numbers of addicts who are injecting. This finding supports our most recent statistics on drug misusers entering treatment - more of whom are getting treatment, but fewer of whom are reporting injecting.

However the fact that around one percent of Scots are still misusing heroin and valium is a very real concern. Progress has been made but we must step up action further. Drug related deaths were down in 2003 but we cannot be complacent. We are getting more addicts into treatment but we must increase the numbers and intervene earlier.

That is why last October we boosted treatment and rehabilitation funding by £6 million to increase the number of people entering treatment each year from 12,600 to 15,600 by 2006-07.

We expect an expansion of drug treatment services across the full range to increase the numbers entering treatment, reduce waiting times and improve the range of interventions available locally - such as abstinence approaches, residential approaches, detox approaches, harm reduction approaches.

That's more lives being saved from the damage of drugs, and more communities being protected from the crimes carried out to feed an addict's habit.

Hand in hand with treatment and rehabilitation we are developing a stronger partnership between the criminal justice and health services to get a firm grip on drug-related offending and action to loosen the dealers' grip on our communities.

We are on the side of communities plagued by drug crime - and we are matching words with action. We will continue to come after the dealers who are prepared to peddle death for financial gain. And we will provide drug misusers with the right services to make the right choices - for themselves, for their communities, and for Scotland."

The research was carried out for the Scottish Executive by the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health.

'Valium' is a trademark for the drug diazepam, one of the family of drugs called benzodiazepines. They are prescribed for conditions such as insomnia (difficulty sleeping) and anxiety. Products are no longer marketed under the trademark 'Valium'. A wide range of other benzodiazepine drugs are prescribable.

Scottish Executive press release - 18.01.2005

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Fall in heroin and valium misuse

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