Scottish drug users must be given better access to treatment to prevent drug related deaths according to a new study, which also claims consumption rooms and safer supply initiatives are needed to save lives.
Published in the Lancet, the research, led by Glasgow Caledonian University, found death rates for those not in drug treatment – including opioid replacements like methadone and buprenorphine –were three and a half times higher than for those who were.
But the study, which involved about 50,000 people, also found that death rates in those in treatment have increased over the last decade. The researchers claim this
suggests offering medication is not enough on its own.
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