Scottish Politics / Independence - Vol 12

[sherman]

So is it actually users of the consumption room additionally shooting up outside or is it extra junkies that dont trust the room not wanting to use it?

[rider73]

Whatever the reason for it, the room is therefore a failure

It doesn't stop druggies outside from ruining the area, and or .... They do it anyway despite the room.

[TheJimi]

Leithen said:

Reading the article it suggests that this area had this problem long before the room was created.

Yeah, my feeling is that the issues predates consumption room, although it's probably had an exacerbating effect.

[anonymous-user]

“ The concept, a UK first, is controversial and costs £2.3m a year. “

I’m glad there aren’t any more needy causes to spunk a few million on.

[TheJimi]

Waitforme said:

“ The concept, a UK first, is controversial and costs £2.3m a year. “

I’m glad there aren’t any more needy causes to spunk a few million on.

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

As for the cost, did you expect it to be free?

Drug use isn't going away. Ever. Neither are drug addicts.

Providing a safe, clinical environment, for intravenous drug consumption is one of the key ways we stop people dying and getting them on pathways that lead to cessation. It also gets dirty needles off the streets.

It's unfortunate that the location chosen for the consumption room also has historical drug related issues, and without context, the optics are bad, but it's not evidence that the consumption room itself is a failure.

Edited by TheJimi on Monday 26th May 12:11

[NoddyonNitrous]

TheJimi said:

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

As for the cost, did you expect it to be free?

Drug use isn't going away. Ever. Neither are drug addicts.

Providing a safe, clinical environment, for intravenous drug consumption is one of the key ways we stop people dying and getting them on pathways that lead to cessation. It also gets dirty needles off the streets.

It's unfortunate that the location chosen for the consumption room also has historical drug related issues, and without context, the optics are bad, but it's not evidence that the consumption room itself is a failure.

Edited by TheJimi on Monday 26th May 12:11

If we can't say it's a failure, what aspects of it are a success?

[rider73]

TheJimi said:

Waitforme said:

“ The concept, a UK first, is controversial and costs £2.3m a year. “

I’m glad there aren’t any more needy causes to spunk a few million on.

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

As for the cost, did you expect it to be free?

Drug use isn't going away. Ever. Neither are drug addicts.

Providing a safe, clinical environment, for intravenous drug consumption is one of the key ways we stop people dying and getting them on pathways that lead to cessation. It also gets dirty needles off the streets.

It's unfortunate that the location chosen for the consumption room also has historical drug related issues, and without context, the optics are bad, but it's not evidence that the consumption room itself is a failure.

Edited by TheJimi on Monday 26th May 12:11

Eh? Surely they means it's the right location then , no point in putting it where no druggies are?

[TheJimi]

rider73 said:

TheJimi said:

Waitforme said:

“ The concept, a UK first, is controversial and costs £2.3m a year. “

I’m glad there aren’t any more needy causes to spunk a few million on.

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

As for the cost, did you expect it to be free?

Drug use isn't going away. Ever. Neither are drug addicts.

Providing a safe, clinical environment, for intravenous drug consumption is one of the key ways we stop people dying and getting them on pathways that lead to cessation. It also gets dirty needles off the streets.

It's unfortunate that the location chosen for the consumption room also has historical drug related issues, and without context, the optics are bad, but it's not evidence that the consumption room itself is a failure.

Edited by TheJimi on Monday 26th May 12:11

Eh? Surely they means it's the right location then , no point in putting it where no druggies are?

I didn't say it was in the wrong location.

[TheJimi]

NoddyonNitrous said:

If we can't say it's a failure, what aspects of it are a success?

The 250 people who have used the service, and the positive effects thereof?

I can't stand Swinney, but he's right in that it will take time to measure the success or otherwise.

[irc]

TheJimi said:

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

As for the cost, did you expect it to be free?

Drug use isn't going away. Ever. Neither are drug addicts.

Providing a safe, clinical environment, for intravenous drug consumption is one of the key ways we stop people dying and getting them on pathways that lead to cessation. It also gets dirty needles off the streets.

Not cutting £19M from drug and alcohol addiction groups might help.

"Figures for 2022/23 show drug and alcohol addiction groups had their funding slashed by almost £19 million on the previous year alone. "

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/scotlands-safe...

Junkies need to stop using drugs not use them safely 9am-9pm if they live near Calton.

"Over the next 3 years The Thistle will cost the Scottish Government at least £7 million pounds. It could be seen as an expensive way of tidying up the city centre of heroin users and moving them somewhere else. There is no plan for a care pathway to encourage people to be get funding for residential drug addiction treatment to end their opiate addiction. This should surely be the way forward and not the addiction enabling facility that Glasgow has now put in place. £7 million could provide detox and counselling treatment for around 1000 individuals, giving them the opportunity and means to stop their use all together "

https://thehaynesclinic.com/drug-addiction/the-thi...

[Snow and Rocks]

Is it really only open from 9am until 9pm?!

In my experience as an Aberdeen taxi driver a few years back as a student - the major peak in drug consumption came just after midnight on the nights when their dole money was paid in.

It wasn't unusual to see a line of taxis waiting with junkies at certain cash machines waiting for the time to click past midnight so they could get their money and head straight to wherever their dealer was meeting that night. They were always "collecting keys" and getting their money out to "pay back a friend."

They were always friendly enough and always offered to give the cash up front, even when the fare was £30+.

[TheJimi]

^^

Never has a username been more apt.

[sherman]

Yet another SNP failure coming up.
If it comes to pass I will have to consider how to celebrate my £250 windfall
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinbu...

[alangla]

sherman said:

Yet another SNP failure coming up.
If it comes to pass I will have to consider how to celebrate my £250 windfall
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinbu...

If you’re bored, here’s the legislation being cited https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1991/19/schedu...
It does indeed state

legislation said:

In its application to the Council, the definition of “household waste” contained in subsection (5) of section 124 of the Act of 1982 (collection and disposal of household and trade waste) shall be deemed to include garden refuse.

Being from 1991, it would pre-date the council re-organisation of 1996 when Lothian, Strathclyde etc were broken up, so it’ll be interesting to see if the legal opinion suggests it still applies. For what it’s worth, there’s a similar act from the same year covering Strathclyde https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1991/20/schedu...
Which amongst other things outlaws laying pipelines in the Clyde Tunnel but doesn’t mention rubbish. It does, however, include provisions forcing the council to allow passengers to travel on the sewage sludge boats that used to dump off Arran.

Edited by alangla on Wednesday 28th May 05:45

[Evercross]

TheJimi said:

Can you genuinely not see how a consumption room is a good thing?

Yeah, possibly, but interpret the context of why this consumption room exists and the bigger (political) picture. The SNP Scottish government has in real terms regularly and consistently slashed the budget for drug rehabilitation both directly to NHS Scotland and indirectly to local councils and drug charities/non-profits. The money put in is something like a quarter of what it was in 2007 when the SNP first came into power (inflation adjusted).

2024

2019

2016

The SNP have then made it a cause to introduce these consumption rooms as a 'solution' to their self-made problem, knowing that UK law makes them illegal so that they can then point to the restrictions of the Scotland Act as the 'true' cause of Scotland having the highest level of drug deaths per capita in the entire world and stating that only independence and the freedom to introduce such measures will solve the problem.

The SNP are merely using the plight of drug addicts to pick fights with Westminster (just like they did with trans people) and don't actually give a fk about the issues.

Edited by Evercross on Wednesday 28th May 07:42

[irc]

Agreed. Let's not forget junkies are not organised people. They won't travel miles to shoot up. So this £2M a year center will cover (for 12hrs a day) part of the east end and city center. To give good coverage in the greater Glasgow area you would need perhaps another 4 in the city. One in Paisley. One in Greenock. Maybe 3 in Lanarkshire. That's 10. Maybe double that for national cover. You are up to £25M a year.

Just as well there is nothing else we need to spend cash on.

All for something that doesn't solve the issue. To stop an addiction people need first to want to stop. Having it normalised by supplying cubicles and safety cover so they can inject any crap they buy on the street is not helping.

[Evercross]

It is actually quite sick and twisted when you think about it.

Many moons ago former SNP Justice Secretary (and now leader of Alba) Kenny MacAskill revealed that the nationalists were prepared to operate a policy of "the wrong things for the right reason", that reason being achieving independence. He admitted that the SNP would make dubious policy decisions that could be used to leverage support for nationalism, including giving convicted criminals the right to vote, something that no nation that calls itself a democracy would even consider.

Manufacturing an addiction crisis so that they can bleat about their chosen solution to that crisis being barred by devolution falls squarely into that ball-park.

It is one of the reasons why way back in the early annals of these threads I said that the SNP are a malignant force in Scottish politics and anyone voting for them is equally culpable.

[A.J.M]

Rather amusing to see the pro UK fb pages push labour as the credible opposition to the SNP.
Yet most of the comments are people saying they don’t trust labour and want to vote Reform.

Could be interesting to see as there’s a general apathy to the traditional parties.

[anonymoususer]

It's a pity that Mr Swinney has fallen out with Nicola
Niccie could take that camper van thingey out and about and the junkies could shoot up in it.
They could then save lots more druggies

[hidetheelephants]

A.J.M said:

Rather amusing to see the pro UK fb pages push labour as the credible opposition to the SNP.
Yet most of the comments are people saying they don t trust labour and want to vote Reform.

Could be interesting to see as there s a general apathy to the traditional parties.

If Reform actually want change in Scotland the best way they could achieve that is by setting up a completely separate party that isn't unionist, another unionist party is just going to cement the SNP in place and Alba seem dead in the water. As it is Swinney is laughing all the way to Bute House for another 5 years.