Heroin's Child: A shocking image of a lost innocence
A COMATOSE heroin addict sprawls in a school doorway with a needle by his side - as his toddler daughter cuddles him in a pitiful bid to stay warm. Just 10ft away, the man's six month-old baby daughter cries hysterically with no cover on her pram. The shocking pictures illustrate the grim reality behind damning statistics that show 120,000 children are living with addict parents.
Children's charities last night described the images as "appalling and frightening" And Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill said: "This shows the extent of the problem that drugs cause in our communities. When a wee toddler is discovered in circumstances like that, it is just so shocking.
"It really does highlight the tragedy and misery that drugs like heroin can bring." The father was found by a businessman alerted by the baby's crying. He said the toddler - dressed in pink tracksuit bottoms, pink and white trainers and a white T-shirt - was sound asleep but the baby looked distressed. The father's shirt sleeves were rolled up to reveal heavilytattooed arms. Around him lay the paraphernalia of drugs - discarded needles and a soup spoon for cooking heroin.
On the left of the picture, on the school step, a syringe and empty wrapper are clearly visible.
We are not naming the man because to do so would identify the vulnerable toddler and baby girl still in his care. But he remains the girls' legal guardian and lives with them and his wife in a house in Clackmannanshire. He is on a fast-track rehabilitation programme for heroin abusers and receives prescription methadone. The 39-year-old has a long history of drug abuse and was jailed for five years in 1994 for a serious sex assault. He claims the "drug works" were not his but admitted he had been drinking heavily with friends who were injecting heroin. On the day, he had appeared in court on another matter. He said: "I was told my dad was going to hospital and I wanted to take the children because my father loves them.
"I went to the Spar and got a half bottle and I also had a half bottle of vodka in the house which I had had a few out of. Me and the older child sat on the grass then I think I crashed out. I'm sorry for what has happened."
The businessman who took the photos on his mobile phone said: "He was gone. He had been that way so long that the girl was also asleep cuddled into him and the baby in the pram was crying her lungs out. He was dead to the world in broad daylight with two vulnerable children in his care. There is a busy road just a few steps away. It beggars belief that this idiot could still be responsible for these girls. The school where he was found is a notorious shooting-up location for addicts. There are new needles appearing there all the time."
Children's charity leaders described the case as "extreme" but said similar scenes were frequent behind closed doors across Scotland. Tom Roberts, head of public affairs at Children 1st, said: "It does paint a graphic picture of Scotland in 2007. "It is an appalling and frightening image. Services for addicts need to identify where children may live with someone misusing substances and ensure plans are put in place to protect them. We know with the right support, parents can overcome their addiction and maintain relationships with their children. However, we also know that support services are over-stretched and not always available when needed."
Last week chief medical officer Harry Burns revealed at least 120,000 children in Scotland live in homes blighted by drug and alcohol abuse. He warned: "Services are unable to prevent severe harm to many children. The Aberlour charity believes the real number of exposed children could be as high as 160,000. That is more than one in 10 children in Scotland, or three pupils in every class of 30. Aberlour said: "Parental substance use can affect children in many ways. The stigma can lead to isolation and susceptibility to bullying. Children may fear the family being split up by social services and may try to protect it by becoming withdrawn socially and conceal the harm they are experiencing."
Roberts said: "Many children in these situations assume a role as carer to their parents and siblings. Of the 2288 children on the child protection register in Scotland in March 2006, 45 per cent of these were categorised as having been neglected. We remain concerned that alcohol or drug misuse has pervaded Scottish culture and that this acts as a barrier to real change. Helping parents to stop misusing drugs or alcohol is the best solution for children, the best solution for communities and the best solution for individuals themselves."
It is not only the children left in the street as their parents lie comatose who are at risk. Children left in bedrooms as their parents lie unconscious through drink downstairs are in as much danger. But sometimes it can be hard to find help. A report by Children 1st stated: "People often have to wait weeks or even months to get the help that they need. This is especially regrettable given that pregnancy or parenthood can often be the trigger to encourage someone to end their drug or alcohol misuse." In the Central Scotland case, both girls are still at home with their father. This may appear to be a mistake by social services but they could also be at risk if put into public care. The report states: "The reality of our public care system is that it fails many of our young people, with outcomes such as low educational attainment, increased risk of drug use, mental illness, homelessness and offending, and a lack of identity and self-esteem. Before we can be confident of giving Scotland's most vulnerable children a safer, happier and more secure childhood, much more needs to be done to address the failings of our public care system."
Shown the pictures, Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said: "What an indictment of the society in which we live. These photographs are truly heart-rending." Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: "Sadly, there are cases like this and it will be shocking for people to read. We need more childcentred policies in government, we cannot tolerate this type of behaviour."
Clackmannanshire Council, who deal with the family, said: "Emergency duty social workers were involved in this case as soon as it came to light Social workers from Clackmannanshire Council's Child Care Service continue to be involved to ensure the future safety of the children."
This highlights the misery that heroin can bring It paints a graphic picture..an appalling and frightening image'
Source: Sunday Mail Nov. 25 2007
'Health disaster' fear as pupils turn to cocaine
Drug dealers are targeting schools and a "worrying number" of youngsters are trying cocaine, an expert warned yesterday. As a result, the country is heading for a health care disaster, Prof John Henry, the UK's leading expert on illicit drug use, told The Daily Telegraph. He predicted a dramatic rise in heart attacks, strokes and neurological problems among young people. He spoke as a new report said that almost one in five secondary school pupils in England, some as young as 11, took illegal drugs last year.
The number of children aged 11-15 dabbling in drugs was contributing to an increase in the number of adults addicted to Class A drugs such as cocaine, with massive knock-on costs for the NHS. Hospital admissions linked to illegal drugs have tripled in five years.
The report was published by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care, a Government-funded body. The number of pupils who told researchers that they had used drugs in the previous month had fallen slightly over a five-year period. But the report said that the numbers who took cocaine or ecstasy in the past year have not dropped and represent four per cent -- or around 140,000 children.
Around 17 per cent of pupils took some kind of illegal drug, rising to 29 per cent among 15-year-olds. Nearly one in five at secondary school were offered Class A drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, and amphetamines.
The report, which also looked at adult drug-taking in England and Wales, found that the number of cannabis users was down, from 10 per cent to eight per cent, but cocaine was the second most common drug.
Those taking Class A drugs rose in the past eight years from 2.7 per cent to 3.4 per cent, about 1.4 million adults, mainly due to an increase in cocaine use. Prof Susan Paterson, a toxicologist at Imperial College, London, who works with coroners on heroin deaths in the capital, said: "Ten years ago we hardly saw cocaine. Now it is commonplace."
Prof Henry said: "If dealers can find a new audience they will go for it. It is very brutal, very aggressive. "If you have a large number of people trying cocaine, you will have more people addicted." Cocaine usage had peaked in the US but was still on the rise here "which means the worst is yet to come, we're going to see more severe addiction, more strokes and heart attacks in young people, and more of the other complications linked to its usage".
There were 171 deaths from cocaine in 2005, up from 19 in 1996, but the professor said the figure was a gross underestimate because many cocaine users died of heart attacks and strokes. Prof Henry said: "We did research into people with chest pain and we found that about 30 per cent of people coming into hospital under 40 had taken cocaine." Cocaine use has been boosted because it has become more socially acceptable and the supply is more plentiful. A gram wrap costs as little as £45 and experts fear its use will soar until it reaches a peak, as it did in the 1990s in the US, where there are now 25 million users and two million addicts. According to the report, three per cent of pupils who said they had taken drugs in the past month were just 11 or 12 years old.
In 2006, 17 per cent of boys had taken drugs in the past year and 10 per cent in the past month. The figures for girls were 16 per cent and eight per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the numbers of adults in hospital where drug use is a factor has risen nearly threefold in 10 years to 38,364, while drug treatment centres are overwhelmed, with 181,390 drug users visiting them last year - up 13 per cent in 12 months. Some 8,200 pupils in 290 schools completed questionnaires last autumn for the survey.
Source: Daily Telegraph April 2007
The number of children aged 11-15 dabbling in drugs was contributing to an increase in the number of adults addicted to Class A drugs such as cocaine, with massive knock-on costs for the NHS. Hospital admissions linked to illegal drugs have tripled in five years.
The report was published by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care, a Government-funded body. The number of pupils who told researchers that they had used drugs in the previous month had fallen slightly over a five-year period. But the report said that the numbers who took cocaine or ecstasy in the past year have not dropped and represent four per cent -- or around 140,000 children.
Around 17 per cent of pupils took some kind of illegal drug, rising to 29 per cent among 15-year-olds. Nearly one in five at secondary school were offered Class A drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, and amphetamines.
The report, which also looked at adult drug-taking in England and Wales, found that the number of cannabis users was down, from 10 per cent to eight per cent, but cocaine was the second most common drug.
Those taking Class A drugs rose in the past eight years from 2.7 per cent to 3.4 per cent, about 1.4 million adults, mainly due to an increase in cocaine use. Prof Susan Paterson, a toxicologist at Imperial College, London, who works with coroners on heroin deaths in the capital, said: "Ten years ago we hardly saw cocaine. Now it is commonplace."
Prof Henry said: "If dealers can find a new audience they will go for it. It is very brutal, very aggressive. "If you have a large number of people trying cocaine, you will have more people addicted." Cocaine usage had peaked in the US but was still on the rise here "which means the worst is yet to come, we're going to see more severe addiction, more strokes and heart attacks in young people, and more of the other complications linked to its usage".
There were 171 deaths from cocaine in 2005, up from 19 in 1996, but the professor said the figure was a gross underestimate because many cocaine users died of heart attacks and strokes. Prof Henry said: "We did research into people with chest pain and we found that about 30 per cent of people coming into hospital under 40 had taken cocaine." Cocaine use has been boosted because it has become more socially acceptable and the supply is more plentiful. A gram wrap costs as little as £45 and experts fear its use will soar until it reaches a peak, as it did in the 1990s in the US, where there are now 25 million users and two million addicts. According to the report, three per cent of pupils who said they had taken drugs in the past month were just 11 or 12 years old.
In 2006, 17 per cent of boys had taken drugs in the past year and 10 per cent in the past month. The figures for girls were 16 per cent and eight per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the numbers of adults in hospital where drug use is a factor has risen nearly threefold in 10 years to 38,364, while drug treatment centres are overwhelmed, with 181,390 drug users visiting them last year - up 13 per cent in 12 months. Some 8,200 pupils in 290 schools completed questionnaires last autumn for the survey.
Source: Daily Telegraph April 2007
Youngsters having treatment for drug abuse up by a fifth
The number of children between nine and 15 sent for drug treatment shot up by a fifth last year, according to official figures
The number of children between nine and 15 sent for drug treatment shot up by a fifth last year, according to official figures. More than 9,000 were sent on courses to try to curb the drug abuse that led them into crime and anti-social behaviour.
Most were ordered to take drug treatment by the courts after convictions for crimes seen as linked to their drug habit. The majority sent for treatment were found to be using cannabis. But an increasing proportion are taking other drugs, notably cocaine.
The figures, released by the Department of Health to MPs, show a 20 per cent rise in the number of children entering treatment for drug problems, up from 7,500 in 2005-2006 to 9,031 in 2006-2007.
The number who were said to have their main problem with cannabis was 5,037, 56 per cent of the total. The previous year there were 4,567 who gave cannabis as their predominant drug, 61 per cent of the total.
Campaigners against drugs warned that the assumption among many adults that taking drugs is harmless has contributed to their growing use by children.
Mary Brett, of Europe Against Drugs, said: "This is what happens when the common attitude to drugs is that taking them is normal. "We are finding children acting as runners for dealers and committing crime themselves to pay for drugs. Children are also unlikely to take notice of all the information about cannabis as a cause of psychosis that older teenagers are aware of.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: "These figures reflect the massive improvements that have been made over the past few years in engaging more people in effective drug treatment. "We have seen a reduction in cannabis use across all age groups.
But the MagistrateAssociation reported recently that the Government’s decision to downgrade the criminal status of cannabis in 2004 has produced a boom in youth crime, notably among 12 and 13-year-olds.
The number of children between nine and 15 sent for drug treatment shot up by a fifth last year, according to official figures. More than 9,000 were sent on courses to try to curb the drug abuse that led them into crime and anti-social behaviour.
Most were ordered to take drug treatment by the courts after convictions for crimes seen as linked to their drug habit. The majority sent for treatment were found to be using cannabis. But an increasing proportion are taking other drugs, notably cocaine.
The figures, released by the Department of Health to MPs, show a 20 per cent rise in the number of children entering treatment for drug problems, up from 7,500 in 2005-2006 to 9,031 in 2006-2007.
The number who were said to have their main problem with cannabis was 5,037, 56 per cent of the total. The previous year there were 4,567 who gave cannabis as their predominant drug, 61 per cent of the total.
Campaigners against drugs warned that the assumption among many adults that taking drugs is harmless has contributed to their growing use by children.
Mary Brett, of Europe Against Drugs, said: "This is what happens when the common attitude to drugs is that taking them is normal. "We are finding children acting as runners for dealers and committing crime themselves to pay for drugs. Children are also unlikely to take notice of all the information about cannabis as a cause of psychosis that older teenagers are aware of.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: "These figures reflect the massive improvements that have been made over the past few years in engaging more people in effective drug treatment. "We have seen a reduction in cannabis use across all age groups.
But the MagistrateAssociation reported recently that the Government’s decision to downgrade the criminal status of cannabis in 2004 has produced a boom in youth crime, notably among 12 and 13-year-olds.
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