There must have been singing and dancing within the Scottish Government at the news Annemarie Ward has decided to step away from the frontline of the battle against drug and alcohol addiction.
During her tenure as chief executive of the addiction charity Favor (Faces and Voices of Recovery) she has become Scotland’s most effective advocate for marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
Lately, though, it’s seemed that her most implacable enemy is the Scottish Government. To no-one’s surprise, Scotland’s latest addiction figures showed that the number of deaths caused by drug misuse had increased year on year by 12%.
A total of 1,172 people died in 2023 – up from 1051 the previous year. Those in Scotland’s most deprived areas are 15 times more likely to die from drug misuse.
After 17 years of SNP government, Scotland remains unchallenged as Europe’s drug deaths capital.
The arrogance, incompetence and cruelty of the Scottish Government was evident in the response of Neil Gray, the Health Minister. Mr Gray said: “I believe we are on the right course regarding the interventions we are making.”
Health minister Neil Gray
Last week, Ms Ward said: “I’m done battering my head against a brick wall. I’ve been doing it for five years now. Enough is enough! Nobody in charge is listening. I can’t continue shouting against government drug strategies that focus almost entirely on keeping people addicted instead of getting them free from dependency.”
Ms Ward has consistently challenged the Scottish Government’s shameful approach to addressing the annual death toll which can be........