Thursday, March 31, 2011

Blog #10: Scots drug deaths 'may be far higher' than figures show

Keena Wilson

30 March 2011

Scots drug deaths 'may be far higher' than figures show

Blog #10

I noticed that when drug dealers are caught and sent to court, their jail sentences can be extremely harsh. I’ve seen drug dealers get 20, 25, and even 40 years for selling drugs. I know that it is illegal to sell drugs, but I never thought that would deserve a 40 year sentence. But then I realized drug dealers will sell drugs to anybody who has the money for it, even the unhealthiest person who really does not need it. With drugs sometimes comes death and that could be the reason why drug dealers get a harsher punishment. Drug related deaths have been on the rise, especially in Scotland. Scotland's death toll from drugs could be far higher than official figures show, a doctor has warned. Statistics show there were 545 drug abuse deaths recorded in 2009. But Edinburgh University researcher Dr. Roy Robertson said the total would be much higher if deaths from related diseases and violence were included. He said: "I can imagine within the space of a few years we would see several hundred new cases added to the total." He also argued that the overall total would be far greater if these fatalities were included, along with victims of other infections acquired through drugs, such as HIV and anthrax, and drug-fuelled violence and suicides. "If we did include a larger number we would probably see several hundred more deaths and that trend would be upwards, because the trend in combined alcohol and drug use is greater than ever before," he said.

Drugs, of course, are a big social global problem. I feel that drug prohibition only makes things worse. When drug dealers are told not to sell drugs that only makes them do it more. Crimes, the spread of HIV, violence, and of course deaths are major consequences of drug prohibition. But these represent only part of the damage caused by drug use. Consider drug-exposed infants, drug-induced accidents, and loss of productivity and employment, not to mention the breakdown of families and the degeneration of drug-inflicted neighborhoods. These too are consequences of drugs. Drugs affect people everywhere which is why drugs and drug abuse can be a social global problem.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12906927

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