Substance use treatment

St Mungo's would welcome the integration of drugs and alcohol into one coherent Government strategy. Separating these into two distinct issues does not support the majority of our clients - who have multiple difficulties with both drugs and alcohol - and causes problems with access to treatment options. This applies to both statutory and voluntary community-based services, which often treat drug and alcohol dependency as separate issues rather than effects of the same causes.

We also believe that abstinence is a very effective method of treatment for some clients, and that the pathway through residential detoxification and rehabilitation treatment - enabling them to live drug- and alcohol-free lives - is crucial. However, a high percentage of St Mungo's clients are unable to meet the demands of residential treatment and need the opportunity to stabilise their substance use or alcohol use; first through harm-minimisation interventions, and then through treatment such as methadone or subutex prescriptions.

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