Glasgow has 20,000 drug addicts

Drug rehabilitation services in Glasgow would need to double in size to deal with every problem addict in the city.

More than ten thousand people addicted to heroin, cocaine and other drugs are engaged in health and social work programmes designed to get them clean.

But almost another 10,000 addicts and problem drug users are not receiving any help.

Glasgow Addiction Services (Gas) – a link up between social work and health services in the city – has already had to expand rapidly to cope with the numbers of addicts in the city and has doubled in size in the last five years, creating thousands of extra places.

Thousands of addicts are on methadone and on rehabilitation schemes, but if the services are to reach the entire drug addicted population then resources would have to greatly increase.

Community based rehab programmes have trebled in size in five years, while residential services, once considered by many to be the most effective way of breaking addiction, have struggled to treat more people.

The main method of dealing with heroin addiction is methadone, dispensed to users via pharmacies.

According to Gas, the number of addicts being prescribed methadone has risen slightly from 6964 in 2005 to 7131 in 2009.

However as a result of a reorganisation of services, the number enrolled on rehab while living in the community has rocketed from 840 in 2004 to 3101 last year.

The number of addicts in residential rehabilitation however, has only increased by 20 from 361 to 381 in five years.

Eric Steel, director of Gas, said: “The changes have made us more efficient and now Glasgow has got the approach right. We have increased the size of the service as demand has doubled and we got new resources to respond.

“Estimates suggest we still have some way to go. There are still a lot of addicts we haven’t reached.

“We are in touch with about half of the problem drug users. If we were to reach everyone we would need more resources.”

The service deal with around 11,500 people in he city, of which 7000 are categorised as having a primary drug problem. Mr Steel said that whereas in the past people had to wait to be seen they are now able to have direct access to the service as soon as they get in touch or are referred, unlike in other parts of Scotland.

The service has also been developed to allow people to stay in their community and get treatment, which was not available a decade ago.

He added however that residential services were available for people who were considered suitable and another 100 could probably be accommodated.

The service’s annual budget from the health board and council amounts to around £50million. Both organisations will face budget cuts over the next few years and have announced staffing cuts to cope with the situation.

Mr Steel added: “We would always benefit from more money but we are grateful for what we get.

“The position has always been we would need more given the scale of the problem in Glasgow. More resources would take us to where we are aspiring to be.”

It is anticipated that those drug users not currently engaged with services will be in the future as their problem develops, while others will be successfully treated.

The problem is that, by then, more people will have developed drug problems and the issue of hidden users continues.

The city has had a heroin problem which has grown since the mid-1980s.

In recent years police have announced major seizures of the drug, with a peak of £43.5m class A drugs recovered in 2008/09, up from £22m three years earlier.

However, over the same timescale the price of the drugs on the street has fallen, making them more accessible to addicts.

According to charity Drugscope, who monitor prices, the price of a gram of heroin has fallen from £53 in 2004 to £45 in 2008 Yesterday the Evening Times reported how the city’s cocaine problem was spiralling and no one knew its full extent.

Cheaper and lower quality cocaine has flooded the market making it accessible to a wider and younger market.

Rehab services for the drug have also expanded dramatically in the last decade as more people seek help.

Cocaine Anonymous has had a presence in Glasgow since 2001, and has expanded across the city to meet demand.

Richard, (who didn’t want to reveal his full name), vice chairman of the public information committee of Cocaine Anonymous, said: “The first meeting in Glasgow was nine years ago. Now there are meetings every night of the week all over the city. The service has grown rapidly.

“We have people form all walks of life coming to Cocaine Anonymous, and we also deal with any form of drug, including alcohol.”

Cocaine Anonymous now has 30 groups which meet across the city. It is a free to use service and focuses on the 12-step recovery programme.

Richard added: “There is a solution. We see people coming in who are desperate and their lives can be transformed.”

Cocaine Anonymous helpline 0141 959 6363. www.cascotland.org.uk