A Person-centred, Trauma-informed Public Health Approach to Substance Use in the Justice System (Amendment 1)
S6M-03625.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-03625 in the name of Keith Brown (A Person-centred, Trauma-informed Public Health Approach to Substance Use in the Justice System), leave out from “drugs deaths” to end and insert “the high number of drug deaths in Scotland is a national shame; regrets that drug-related deaths are 3.5 times that of the UK as a whole; notes with concern that spending on drug and alcohol services is difficult to track and needs to be more transparent; agrees with Audit Scotland that more focus is needed on addressing the root causes of drug and alcohol dependency; supports Audit Scotland’s conclusion that more could be done to join up work and funding streams to demonstrate that they are collectively improving outcomes; agrees that the possession of class A drugs is a serious offence and should not be dealt with through warnings as it makes the police’s job tackling drug dealing more difficult; reinforces the commitment to continue to improve support for people leaving prison, including access to community services upon liberation, and throughcare; welcomes the decision by the Chief Constable to roll out the carriage of naloxone across Police Scotland and the support of officers to help preserve life and keep people safe; recognises that the Scottish Government’s effective decriminalisation of class B and C drugs in 2016-17 has resulted in an increase in the number caught possessing such drugs; understands that admissions to psychiatric hospitals among cannabis users has soared since the effective decriminalisation of that drug; determines that access to high-quality drug treatment, rehabilitation and recovery services at appropriate points in the justice system, including in prison and police care, is vital; welcomes Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party proposals for a Right to Recovery Bill, which would provide a statutory right to addiction and recovery treatment services; supports the principle that individuals seeking addiction and/or substance misuse treatment should be able to quickly access their preferred treatment option, and regrets the Scottish Government’s refusal to participate in Project ADDER, which is designed to tackle addiction and supply of illegal substances.”

Original motion(S6M-03625):
That the Parliament believes that every drug-related death is unacceptable and that drugs deaths are a public health emergency; commits to save and improve lives through the National Mission and supports the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards; agrees with the Scottish Government’s long-term aim that imprisonment should be reserved for individuals who pose a risk of serious harm; determines that access to high-quality drug treatment, rehabilitation and recovery services at appropriate points in the justice system, including in prison and police care, is vital; recognises the stigma associated with services and service users and the need to tackle this; supports the transformation of community justice services such as bail supervision and community sentences; reinforces the commitment to continue to improve support for people leaving prison, including access to community services upon liberation, and throughcare; welcomes the decision by the Chief Constable to roll out the carriage of naloxone across Police Scotland and the support of officers to help preserve life and keep people safe; supports the exploration of options to deliver safer drug consumption facilities, within the existing legal framework, to help save lives, and agrees that the development of treatment targets will drive forward the expansion of protective treatment services alongside investment, and that further consultation is needed to gauge public attitudes and explore the limitations of a public health response restricted by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.