Heroin deaths in Swansea at all time high

Having read a letter in today's Evening Post regarding the recent heroin deaths in Swansea and the subsequent critique by the reader of the Government's drugs policy in Wales, this can only confirm that Plaid's recent announcement to prescribe heroin to long term drug users, pending the results of a pilot in England, is a necessary, and long-awaited intervention to the debate on how to deal with the growing drugs problem. The RSA (a highly distinguished body) published a report recently calling for a change in the current drug policy, including the prescribing of heroin. The Labour party in the form of Martin Eaglestone's uneccessary negative remarks on this issue are therefore a reminder of their readiness to jump on the bandwagon of scare-mongering voters, and highlights their inability to address the issues surrounding the large scale drugs problem in Wales.
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DRUGS POLICY IS FAILING

10:30 - 21 March 2007

The 16 deaths and 50 near-fatal heroin overdoses in Swansea since September should quite rightly ring alarm bells. However Ben Evans's report (Post, March 14) and the associated editorial fail to adequately address the problem.Even worse, the articles simply reproduce and endorse the central strand of today's failing drugs policy - namely the belief that prohibition works. Quite clearly it does not; if it did we would not have the problem.

.....A more serious approach is needed if we want to stop the deaths. There is a correlation between deprivation, unemployment, dead-end jobs and heavy drug use. Social policy should be directed at changing this.

In the short term, however, heroin users who want to drop the habit should be able to quickly access alternative medical prescriptions such as Methadone and Subotex, and there should be many more support agencies available to help people through the process of breaking the addiction.Incidentally, Narcotics Anonymous is only one such service; there are many other services available in the Swansea area.

Martin Chapman
Bay View Terrace,
Brynmill,
Swansea