How does Scotland tackle this? The Scottish government hopes the investment of £250m into innovations such as Naloxone – the overdose reversal drug – and alternatives to methadone may turn the oil tanker around, but it may take time.
Despite all the good work that’s been done over the last couple of decades to fight the battle for naloxone and tackle the associated stigma, one key fact remains. As Judith Yates told DDN last month, ‘You need to have it with you’.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration approved Kloxxado, an 8 mg naloxone nasal spray. Kloxxado is similar to the much more recognizable Narcan, which is a 4 mg nasal spray. Both are single-dose products of the same silhouette and general size. But while opioid users are widely familiar with Narcan’s standard 4 mg, Kloxxado’s double-strength dose is unprecedented.
The stark differences in social attitudes to drugs policy between England and Scotland show the cultural divide and underline arguments for independence, two documentary makers have told The National. Emily Brunsdon and Dominic Streeter, from Hide and Seek Films, have spent two years now working on their project on Scotland’s drug death rate. The two first came to Glasgow in 2019 when, Brunsdon says, the issue “was already a national crisis”.
‘It’s come along leaps and bounds compared to how it used to be but for some reason there’s still reluctance in some places, which I’ll never understand,’ peer support lead at the Hepatitis C Trust and longstanding naloxone champion, Philippe Bonnet, tells DDN. ‘You’ve got some housing providers who still don’t want naloxone on their premises, for example. It doesn’t make sense to me. It’s legal, so what’s the problem?’
Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (Scottish Families) has issued 348 naloxone kits in its first year of running its online ‘click and deliver’ service. People order online and receive their lifesaving kit in the post a few days later.
