policy
Statistics on drug-related deaths should be informing
our strategy. DDN reports from the Drugs, Alcohol
and Criminal Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group
More than nuMbers
LATEST STATISTICS relating to drug poisoning, released
by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show no
significant change in the number of deaths in England
and Wales between 2016-17. There were 3,756 deaths
in 2017 (DDN, September, page 4), with two-thirds of
drug-related deaths relating to drug misuse. The most
common cause of death was accidental poisoning.
Speaking at the Drugs, Alcohol and Criminal Justice
Cross-Party Parliamentary Group, Sarah Caul, ONS
senior research officer, gave more detailed insight.
Deaths involving cocaine and fentanyl had continued
to rise – by 29 per cent in the case of fentanyl – while
deaths relating to new psychoactive substances (NPS)
had halved.
There was now a more detailed breakdown of
mortality rates available by country and region, with
the North East of England showing significantly
higher rates than all other English regions, and London
recording a significantly lower rate. The annual
statistics could be affected by different timescales for
recording the deaths in different regions, she added.
‘When you show a map of areas, it almost entirely
maps deprivation,’ commented Alex Boyt. ‘Then you
throw in austerity, homelessness and the reduction of
funding for treatment and it gives a much bigger
picture.’ Sunny Dhadley added that it would be useful
to know more about the background of people who
had passed away, to ‘learn more about the story
behind the figures’.
‘Our job is to give as much evidence as we can,’
responded Caul, citing the ONS article published in
April that showed that more than half of
heroin/morphine misuse death hotspots in England
and Wales were seaside locations. Furthermore, an
experimental ‘deep dive’ into coroners’ records relating
12 | drinkanddrugsnews | November 2018
to drug misuse, published in August, gave observations
on the health and lifestyle of the deceased and the
extent of their contact with health services. There was
far greater scope to expand this exercise and gain
much better understanding of the individual pathways
of those who had died from drug-related causes. (Both
articles available at www.ons.gov.uk)
The second speaker was Rudi Fortson QC, an
independent practising barrister known for his work on
drug law. ‘Five thousand drug-related deaths a year in
England, Wales and Scotland is wholly unacceptable,’
he said. So what should be our approach, he asked the
group. How should we deal with two separate issues of
chaotic drug use and recreational drug use?
‘We’ve seen a marked increase in homelessness and
rough sleeping, a major cause of drug-related deaths,’
he said. ‘People who aren’t drug users who become
homeless, become drug users. So we need to provide a
safe environment.’ This could be warden-assisted
housing, with a warden trained about drug use, or it
could take the form of facilities for safer drug-taking.
‘I’m very enthusiastic about piloting a medically
supervised drug-using facility somewhere in the UK,’
said Fortson. ‘I know they’re very contentious, but I
also know they work when well managed.’
Hamburg had this down ‘to a fine art’ with a
combination of ‘carrot and stick’, while Barcelona
modelled its facilities on safe usage and hygiene, with
medical supervision, counselling services, clean
clothes, a launderette and food.
It had to be ‘multi-level’ with police a key part of
encouraging users to go to the drug consumption room
(DCR) he said. Visiting Toronto last year, he had seen
two consumption rooms and witnessed how having
medical facilities allowed them to respond very quickly.
There were 92 facilities around the world ‘and this
country is not even piloting one – why not?’ he asked.
‘It’s a disgrace.’
As the group debated the merits of DCRs, Fortson
said the evidence showed that they saved lives: ‘There
have been overdoses but not deaths, as medical
professionals are there to support,’ he said. He added
that DCRs worked best when there were several in the
same city, rather than just one.
Mike Trace, chief executive of The Forward Trust
cautioned against seeing DCRs as a ‘policy panacea’.
They were one of several support mechanisms
alongside naloxone, and would make a difference. ‘But
we need to be careful about promoting them as a
public health solution,’ he said.
Turning to consider recreational drug use, Fortson
declared himself a big fan of The Loop, for whom he
was informal legal advisor. Providing a free and
completely non-judgemental drug testing service as
festivals and clubs, their service had highlighted that
many drugs were dangerously mis-sold, such as
plaster of Paris passed off as MDMA.
‘It took me by surprise to see queues at the
Boomtown festival of people waiting to have drugs
tested,’ he said. ‘If The Loop hadn’t been at this
festival, what would the effects of these substances
have been? Illness and possibly death. A high
proportion of people threw their drugs away on
learning the results.’ It was important that the service
was well managed he said, as The Loop was by Fiona
Meesham, but the multi-agency approach including
police was proving highly effective.
‘We know there are ways that already work to stop
drug-related deaths, so let’s provide more funding for
facilities,’ he concluded. DDN
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