Deaths in Scotland from cocaine are at their highest level

A conference in Glasgow has heard that although more users are turning to drug projects for help, most services are geared towards heroin addicts.

Only two publicly-funded specialist cocaine services exist in Scotland - one in Edinburgh and one in Aberdeen.

Cocaine use and deaths involving the drug have been steadily rising, with 44 deaths in Scotland in 2005.

The Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) conference heard that in Glasgow and Clyde cocaine now accounts for one fifth of drug deaths.

The number of drug users taking cocaine and seeking help for a drugs problem has more than doubled in the last five years, from 438 in 2000-01 to 949 in 2005-06.

Much more requires to be done to respond to the ever-growing problems posed by Scotland's increased cocaine use David Liddell SDF director

There are now long waiting lists for treatment schemes.

Scotland's health boards face difficulties in allocating funds for drug treatment because heroin remains a massive problem, being responsible for 58% of drug-related deaths last year.

David Liddell, director of SDF, the national drugs policy and information charity, said: "Much more requires to be done to respond to the ever-growing problems posed by Scotland's increased cocaine use.

"Cocaine users who go on to develop a problem will require treatment quite different from that offered by traditional services which tend to be geared to dealing with heroin-related problems.

'Problem drug users'

"This user group - many of whom are working professionals - will also require services which are sensitive to their lifestyle needs and also to the fact that many of them do not see themselves as problem drug users."

He told the conference of key areas requiring urgent response.

These include educating recreational users of ways to reduce cocaine harm and developing services targeted just at cocaine users.

Mr Liddell also called for services to be geared towards the increasing number of heroin users now also using cocaine.

The Scottish Crime Survey in 2004 found at least 45,000 people aged between 16 and 59 in Scotland had used cocaine in the previous year - a huge increase from the estimated figure of around 12,000 in 1993.