Glasgow drug addicts to get ‘pure’ heroin for free on NHS to combat death rates

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source: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/4990887/glasgow-drugs-nhs-heroin-addicts/

EDIT: Finally, some common sense and may this propagate throughout the world !

LAST RESORT: Glasgow drug addicts to get ‘pure’ heroin for free on NHS to combat death rates

24 Nov 2019

ADDICTS are to be given free heroin through the NHS in a “last resort” bid to combat soaring drug death rates.

Trained nurses will give a pure version of the drug to users to inject up to three times a day in monitored booths at a specialist clinic in Glasgow.



Experts say there are an estimated to be a hardcore of 500 'very vulnerable' addicts in GlasgowCredit: Getty - Contributor

The medical-grade narcotic will be supplied under strict supervision at the Scottish city's new Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) centre, reports the Telegraph.

The controversial £1.2m programme was given the green light after being granted a special licence to supply diamorphine by the Home Office.

It is a joint initiative by NHS Scotland and Glasgow City Council and is aimed at helping those addicts for whom all other approaches have failed.

Scots drug deaths task force to meet for first time to tackle crisis. However, some  believe giving drugs to desperate addicts only risks increasing their dependence on heroin.

What is diamorphine and how does it work?

Diamorphine is an opioid which can be used by doctors to treat severe pain.

It works by acting like the body’s natural painkillers known as endorphins.

These control pain by blocking pain messages normally sent to the brain.

It is being given to heroin addicts as it is far safer than street heroin.

Medical experts also point out it vastly reduces the risk of overdose.

But those behind the initiative inist: “Innovative treatments are required as Glasgow sadly experienced record numbers of drugs deaths last year as well as many more non-fatal overdoses.”

They hope around 20 addicts will attend the centre - due to open this week - where they will take the heroin in booths supervised by nurses.

Experts say there are an estimated to be a hardcore of 500 “very vulnerable” addicts in Glasgow.

The city alone has an estimated 13,600 drug users, a worrying 3.2 per cent of its population.

Drug-related deaths in Scotland soared to 1,187 last year the highest since records began in 1996.

The country has more than 200 deaths per million people, which is higher than the US or anywhere in Europe.

Among the critics is Professor Neil McKeganey, Founding Director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research.

“The treatment of people addicted to heroin should be focused on helping them into a drug-free state, not facilitating dependence,” he has said.