Education will help to win war against drugs

Over the years, numerous anti-drug campaigns have been mounted to convince people to drop the habit.

But last year in the UK, 2.7 million people took an illicit drug, amounting to one in 12 people aged between 16 and 59.

The year 2015/16 saw 15,074 hospital admissions caused by poisoning by illicit drugs.

The figure, from NHS data, represents a six per cent rise from the previous year.

And the statistics show a shocking 51 per cent rise in the last decade.

But is illegal drug use a problem we face here in Tynedale?

Last week, The Hexham Courant revealed grave concerns from the west of the district.

Haltwhistle councillors reported that heroin and other deadly drugs were being peddled in the town.

The claims suggested that Class A drugs were being distributed on the streets and in locations such as public toilets, sometimes in front of children.

Neighbourhood inspector for Northumbria Police, Pam Bridges, said that officers had been dispatched to investigate the drug-related activity.

And Ayesha Jackson of Haltwhistles’s youth initiative, Young & Sweet, said she was not aware of any specific drug issues in the town before the claims were made at last week’s meeting of Haltwhistle Town Council.

She said: “If there are drugs dealers operating in Haltwhistle, I believe the police will already be working to stop them in their tracks, and I think our local police officers do a good job in this town.

“I believe education from schools, parents and youth organisations such as ours is vital, because we can tell youngsters about the dangers of drugs and discourage them from that sort of activity.”

This is not the first drug-related incident to hit the district in recent years.

In 2012, a cannabis farm was uncovered in a disused building in Haltwhistle.

And just last month, a police warning was issued after a teenage boy fell seriously ill after taking what was believed to be LSD in Prudhoe.

Prudhoe town councillor George McCreedy is a member of the council’s young people’s forum.

A retired youth worker, he received an MBE in 1998 for his work with Prudhoe East Youth Centre over many years.

Coun. McCreedy said: “I am aware of the concerns which have been raised in Haltwhistle about Class A drugs, but I am not aware of any evidence to suggest there is a problem of this nature elsewhere in the district.

“Having said that, I don’t think there is any town or village which is completely immune to drug-related activity, so we all have to be on our guard.

“We don’t want our young people to become victims of drug dealers, so it’s important that we educate them about the dangers of drugs and also provide them with worthwhile activities so they do not get caught up in anything like that.

“In terms of stopping the drug dealers, neighbourhood policing is vital. It’s always reassuring to see police on the streets.”

Coun. McCreedy added: “Youth workers and schools have a key role to play, and I also think it would be a good idea for councillors across the district to get together and share any concerns they may have.”

Coun. McCreedy said all forms of drugs were dangerous, whether they be legal highs or class A drugs such as heroin.

“We’ve all had to be on our guard against drugs for decades, going back to the 1960s, from glue sniffing and solvent abuse to class A drugs.

“All forms of substance abuse are potentially life threatening.”

Statistics from the NHS, show that hospital admission episodes in the North-East with a primary diagnosis of poisoning by illicit drugs have remained at a consistent rate over the last three years.

Last year, there were 937 episodes, in 2014/15 there were 932 and in 2013/14 there were 1052.

In 2015/16, 82 of these took place in Northumberland.

The North-East location with the highest rate of incidents was County Durham with 131, and the lowest rate was in Darlington, with just 25.

Andrew Sanders, CEO of Stop Gap, which runs an accommodation service for the homeless in Hexham, said: “We have quite strict rules about alcohol and drug use.

“So in the project, we don’t see many issues with drugs.

“We have been here for 10 years. Over that time we have witnessed issues and concerns that we have had to address, but I could count them on the fingers of one hand.

“From our point of view, we are not aware of any increase in issues.”