The Scottish government is to seek devolution of drugs laws to allow users to take heroin safely under medical supervision.

A "fix room" was planned for Glasgow because of an increase in street injecting in the city, and a rise in HIV infections among users.

Scottish ministers said the idea was "ambitious and innovative."

But the Home Office, which controls drug legislation, said it was illegal, and expected police to enforce the law.

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The safer drug consumption facility (SDCF) was planned for Glasgow where an estimated 400-500 drug addicts are injecting on the streets.

The city's health and social care partnership (HSCP) said this potentially put the users and the wider public at risk.

SNP MSP Emma Harper asks whether Road To Recovery needs a "radical rewrite".

What would be the key asks for radical change, she wonders.

Emma Crawshaw says impact assessments when developing and reviewing policy would be helpful.

She suggests bringing the media into discussions on the wording used to report on drug issues would be useful.

Andrew Horne says it is important to stop the blame being placed on users.

Last August we reported that the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland last year totalled 867, a rise of 23% on 2015.

Numbers have been steadily increasing since 1995, when 426 fatal overdoses were recorded.

Thelatest statistics from the National Records of Scotland, externalshowed more than 70% of deaths were among people aged 35 or over.

Critics say the continuing rise calls into question the effectiveness of the Scottish government's drugs strategy.

However, the minister for public health, Aileen Campbell, said "unfortunately" the figures for Scotland were representative of a general trend of increasing drug deaths "across the UK and in many other parts of Europe".

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Labour MSP David Stewart says he has been struck by the explosion of opiate deaths in America and he asks.

Andrew Horne of Addaction Scotland says American medicine is very odd, with so many drugs adverts.

Mr Horne says people in the US have fantastic teeth but they have drug problems.

David Liddell from Scottish Drugs Forum says in the US they return to victims of drug abuse, which you don't hear in Scotland.

Access to services is a "complete postcode lottery", Andrew Horne says, particularly for younger people.

Services for the younger cohort must be better funded, he says.

Emma Crawshaw says deaths from cocaine use has significantly increased, linking this with the fact it is easier to buy now.

While drug use among young people overall is decreasing, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis use is increasing, says Emma Crawshaw.

Dr Adam Brodie of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland says there are a lot of positive things in the Road to Recovery document.

Dr Brodie says the attidudes and values of the new strategy are as important as anyting, there must be hope that recovery can happen.

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The Psychiatrist says he would never accept that anyone was too old to recover.

Andrew Horne of Addaction Scotland says the Scottish government's Road to Recovery, external is a fantastic document as it has aspiration and hope.

Mr Horne says the English strategy leaves a lot to be desired.

Drug treatment services in Scotland should be refocused to take account of the increasing number of older users, a report has said.

More than half of Scotland's 61,500 problem drug users are 35 or older.

But the report, published by the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), warned treatment services are "generally unprepared" to meet their needs.

The Scottish government said ensuring older drug users get the person-centred care they need was a priority.

The report said the complex and long-term care needs of older people with drug problems, external (OPDPs) must be taken into account by health planners as they will be the main client group for specialist services for the foreseeable future.

Read more here.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle raises the issue of through care and access to preventative courses in the arts in prison.

Teresa Medhurst from the Scottish Prison Service says there is not support available to short term prisoners leaving prison, leading to a revolving door.

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Ms Medhurst says the SPS has appointed through care officers to help people adapting to being released into the community.

Andrew Horne asks: "Why are these people in prison in the first place?"

David Liddell from Scottish Drugs Forum says: "We are sending far too many people into the prison system."

Lib Dems MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton asks about funding and work on the ground.

Addaction Scotland's Andrew Horne says 80% of his organisation's money goes on people, stating a small cut means a cut to people and services.

"We need to reinvest to save", he argues.

If we don't pay now we're going to pay much more later, says Emma Crawshaw of Crew 2000.

I can't imagine any other service being cut by 20% and there not being public outcry, she adds.

Good staff are being lost as a result of cuts, she warns.

Emma Crawshaw of Crew 2000 Scotland says the refresh of the drug strategy should learn lessons from the English approach.

She says the idea that services are only available for those who want to "get clean" is unhelpful.

Teresa Medhurst of the Scottish Prison Service notes people leaving prison often faces multiple stigmas - as addicts, offenders, homeless.

Dr Adam Brodie from the Royal College of Psychiatrists says there is "considerable amounts of stigma" around mental health.

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Andrew Horne from Addaction Scotland says stigma is endemic, for example saying someone is clean means someone else is dirty.

Mr Horne says there needs to be more creativity in engaging with people to address stigma.

He says he was listening to BBC Scotland's Call Kaye this morning and says Kaye Adams allowed a woman to say "at least I'm not a junkie" unchallenged.

Mr Horne says he tweeted Ms Adams to ask why that was not challenged.

Labour MSP David Stewart repeats his previous question about whether stigma is a barrier to treatment.

David Liddell of the Scottish Drugs Forum says yes, including with certain services being associated with a stigma too - for example methadone.

A lot of stigma in the wider society also is a stigma in the workplace, he adds.

People often believe drug use is a choice, Mr Liddell says, rather than a symptom of underlying issues.

Stigma also affects families, he states, particularly children growing up in households where drug use happens.

This often leads to these children being more likely to become users.

MSPs moves onto its second panel of the day, taking evidence from:

• Dr Adam Brodie of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, external
• Teresa Medhurst from the Scottish Prison Service, external
• Emma Crawshaw from Crew 2000 Scotland, external
• Andrew Horne of Addaction Scotland, external
• David Liddell from Scottish Drugs Forum, external

View their submissions to the committee here., external

SNP MSP Sandra White wonders about the availability of rehabs for women.

Dharmacarini Kuladharini notes make services have closed recently.

She says community services are often the best as patients can stay in their homes while receiving treatment, while residential rehabs tend to lead to people become homeless.

Lorna Holmes of Cyrenians says there are three elements to prevention which need to be considered: education ins schools; the prevention of harm; and stopping relapse.

SNP MSP Ash Denham asks about the approach to female drug users.

"Women are at the bottom of the pile", says Dharmacarini Kuladharini.

A man who is using drugs often has a women in the background helping him keep his life together, she says.

While when a women is an addict, she argues, they are more likely to experience more negative consequences.

Ms Kuladharini notes female users will often turn to prostitution, stating they risk being raped, kidnapped and being violently abused to get their fix.

John McKenzie of Police Scotland says there is a perception that police should not be involved in discussions on stigma.

He says the police are often criticised for taking a public health approach to tackling drug abuse.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle queries the directives given to police when dealing with the issue.

Mr McKenzie says officers must follow the Misuse of Drugs Act, but this does not prevent recognition of other issues.

Police take all possible action to refer individuals to relevant agencies, he states.

Labour MSP David Stewart raises the issue of 2016 Scottish government Social Attitudes Survey that was contradictory.

Dharmacarini Kuladharini of the Scottish Recovery Consortium says her organisation sponsored it, but it was a "rubbish survey".

Ms Kuladharini says no one would answer yes to the question "would you live next door to a drug user?"

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However people say they live next door to people struggling, using alcohol or popping pills, she says.

She says she does not know anyone who would say yes to "would you live next door to a drug user?", and she has worked in the field for twenty years and is in personal recovery.

It is the question of "when did you stop beating your wife?", that no-one can answer.

Rising inequality during the 1980s increased the risk of drug-related deaths among members of "Generation X" in Scotland, a new study has found.

Researchers found the "social, economic and political contexts of the 1980s" may have caused an increase in drug deaths in the following years.

The new analysis was carried out by NHS Health Scotland and Glasgow University.

The news comes as the Scottish government convenes a meeting of health leaders to discuss future drugs policy.

Image source, Science Photo Library

The research found a cohort within those born between 1960 and 1980, the group known as "Generation X", who had an increased risk of drug-related death from 1990 onwards.

They also found links to gender and deprivation - young men in poor neighbourhoods were found to be 10 times as likely to die from drugs as women of the same age from a more affluent area.

Read more here.

Labour MSP David Stewart asks if stigma is an issue in treatment today.

"Yes", responds Fiona Moss of the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

She agrees there is a "hierarchy of stigma" and cultural patterns which affect it.

Dharmacarini Kuladharini says the vast majority of drug users face stigma at some point in their lives which prevents them from seeking treatment.