From Annemarie Ward, a formidable advocate for overdose prevention and recovery:
Annemarie Ward, founder of Faces and Voices of Recovery UK, says Glasgow spends a total of £47m on addiction services, but only £500,000 of it goes on abstinence-based residential rehab.
“What has happened is the system has become so focused on the crime reduction dividend from methadone they can see no other way – and the whole system feeds itself,” she says.
“We are spending half a million on getting people off drugs and helping them rebuild their lives, and £46.5m on harm reduction initiatives. Those harm reduction initiatives are great. I would say ‘keep doing that’. But also give people the opportunity to get well because that mantra of ‘keep them alive, keep them alive’ isn’t good enough. As a person in long-term recovery, I see it as a lack of ambition. It’s disrespectful to assume I am not worthy of healing.”
Insight: One mother’s story and the scandal
of Scotland’s drugs death crisis
recoveryreview.blog 