By Ralph Barnett

ARBROATH SHERIFF Norrie Stein yesterday spoke out on the “tragedy” of heroin abuse in Angus—and the grim toll the drug is having on the health and lives of young people in the area.

The sheriff—who has remarked in the past on the issue and is a prominent patron of the town’s award- winning CAFE Project which aims to offer young people realistic alternatives to potentially damaging lifestyle choices—took the unusual step of making his feelings public after hearing of the drug-related death of a young local woman.

Sheriff Stein said, “I would not wish to comment specifically on this single case, but I think it illustrates very clearly what is becoming a major problem in this area.

“As recently as just five or six years ago, it was relatively rare for people to come before the courts in this area in connection with heroin, but now, sadly, barely a day goes by without someone coming up before me whose offending is directly linked to heroin.

“On the one hand we have the addicts themselves who are stealing, either from shops or from people’s homes, to fund their drug habits, and on the other we have those involved in the supply chain.

“A greatly concerning feature is that young people appear to be increasingly turning to heroin at a younger and younger age.

“It used to be fairly widely recognised that people ended up using heroin after starting on so-called soft drugs and then progressively working their way up the ‘ladder’ of abuse until they found themselves injecting heroin.

“That, it would seem, is no longer the case and young people are starting to use heroin as virtually their first illegal substance.

“The reasons for that are, I think, twofold.”

Sheriff Stein continued, “Firstly, heroin seems to be very widely and readily available in this area—not only in Arbroath but across Angus and further afield—and secondly, it would appear to be relatively inexpensive.

“I hear, both through those I deal with in court and anecdotally, that many heroin addicts in this area have habits which cost them around £60 per day to support.

“As the majority of those who abuse heroin are not working and, therefore, are on very limited fixed incomes, there is clearly only one way that they can raise the money to fund their habits, and that is through crimes of dishonesty.

“Raising £60 a day, and that means each and every day, results in those who become addicted being forced to commit crime on a major, daily scale just to feed their habits and that, obviously, has a significant impact on the victims of these crimes.

“That is the side that the public at large sees, but there is also the tragedy that young lives are being destroyed.

“Over the past year or so the court is aware that numerous youngsters in this area have died through using heroin, and that is not to even mention the very serious effects it has on the health of those who are still using it.”

The sheriff added, “Once these people are in the cycle of heroin abuse and crime it is very difficult, if not impossible, to lift them out of it again— regardless of the help that is offered and given to them by a range of agencies.

“What heroin is doing to these young people, effectively, is putting beyond their reach the chance of ever enjoying any kind of normal life, and I think that is just such a waste.”