HC Deb 25 October 1967 vol 751 cc1709-10
10. Mr. MacArthur

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what study he has made of drug addiction in Scotland.

Mr. Millan

An Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence was appointed last year by my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary, the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State to study the misuse of drugs in Great Britain as a whole and to advise on remedial measures.

Mr. MacArthur

Is the hon. Gentle. man aware that there is some concern in Scotland about the possibilty of drug taking among young people spreading from the South? Will he give the House an assurance that he will take whatever urgent and effective action may be necessary to protect young people from the corruption of drugs?

Mr. Millan

We are looking at this problem from the point of view of Great Britain as a whole, but I am glad to say that the evidence so far does not show that there has been any widespread misuse of drugs in Scotland, and I hope very much that we will be able to maintain that position.

Mr. Brewis

Are we in Scotland making any contribution to the health aspects of drug taking, whether the taking of marijuana has any effect on lung cancer, or whether L.S.D. has any effect on leukaemia? Are we in Scotland making any contribution to research into this problem?

Mr. Millan

The hon. Gentleman knows that a good deal of research is being done into the whole question of drug dependence, and we in Scotland are participating in this.