Heroin on NHS promoted

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by Change | 13 Nov 2009

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Calls have been made for a trial scheme to take place in Aberdeen that would see addicts able to be prescribed heroin on the NHS.

A councillor in Aberdeen has called for a trial scheme that would see the city offer drug addicts the chance to access a pure form of the drug at a specialist clinic.

Cllr Jim Kiddie said he had been impressed by the results of a similar trial that had taken place in England and called for a Scottish trial to be held in the city of Aberdeen.

However, the Scotsman reports that opposition councillors have objected to the plans, claiming that such a system could turn Aberdeen into a Mecca for the country's addicts.

Cllr Kiddie told STV: "It may be controversial but if it's successful then there's a justification. It is a drug, but then the NHS prescribes many drugs . Methadone is a drug and some doctors would say its side effects and dangers are just as great as heroin."

The issue is set to be debated by councillors in the city in the next week.

The proposals have been supported by the chair of the visiting committee for Craiginches Prison Gordon Leslie.

Cllr Kiddie holds the position of convenor of the social care committee.

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