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This page lists a selection of organisations which provide expert health, advice and support in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The List gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Executive in funding this page.
Alcohol and Narcotics
Glasgow
Alcoholics Anonymous 5ll\\clllllf_'lotl Sti‘cct. 33(i23l-1
.\lon l‘ll ‘lain 5pm. ()345 70‘) 7555 ()1 hour l. (iioup \upport to liclp l.tt'l\lt' illt'lllltlll\lll.
Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol 32 |)uinl\aiton Road. ('Iylcliank. U52 tixxl, ()llcr\ gcnci‘al mlormation and ad\ tcc includng onc- to oiic counxclliiiy loi' )oung pcoplc. Glasgow City Council Addiction Partnership \\ \x \\ ,glaxgou .gm .ulc \ ltllljJt‘ ol cit} \\idc \t‘l'\lt‘t‘\. lllt‘llltllllf.‘ \pccilic \tipport loi‘ )oung pcoplc lll\t)l\t‘tl in drug and alcohol
Glasgow Council on Alcohol
lxl l‘lool‘. lil‘hlol and \VLNI llouxc. X: l'nion Strch 230 {33 i. Information. ad\ icc. onctoonc counxclling and training: lor lllttxt‘ aflcctcd h} alcohol. RCA Trust .\lii'rcn llouxc. Back Sncddon Strcct. I’ai\|c_\. 337 0880. l’ioicct gum}: ll 25 )car' oldx ad\icc on addiction i\\uc\.
Edinburgh
Alcoholics Anonymous
tx (’ockliurn Sti'cct. (‘all 325 NM) for niccting: lllltc\.
Crew 2000
i2 ('oclduu’n Strcct. Ill) .i-llli.
.\lon Sat l 5pm. Thu .1 8pm. lnlormation on tll‘tlf_'\ and \c\ual licaltli and li‘icndl} ad\icc lrom tramcd \xorkcrx.
Edinburgh & Lothian Council on Alcohol 0 (‘lilton lt‘l'l'tlt‘t‘. 357 h’lh’h'. Information. ad\ icc and \uppoi‘t. Turning Point 3 Smitli'x l’lacc. 55-1 75in. .\lon l-‘i‘i 0.30am 5.30pm. ()nc to onc connxclling tor addict\ and \upport for tlicir familicx.
West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service 4.5 .'\tlL'l;tltlL‘ Sll‘t‘t‘l. ('i'aigxliill. l.l\ ingxtott. lll5llo “ll :25 (‘ounxcllinu liclp in dcaling \xith lamil} imucx and hclp in nothing to\\ard\ cmplo} mcnt opportuniticx. Youth Action Project c/o (‘ommuuin llouw. 33 MIN l’lacc. lilihurn. l.i\ iiigxtoii. lll5tlo 4(il 588. .-\d\ icc and information for yum; pcoplc about \uhxtaucc ntixttxc.
National
Drinkline
(NM 0|? 8382. Mon l’ri ‘lam llpm. Sat & Sun (i l lpm. l'i‘cc conlidcntial information and \llpptil'l.
Alcohol Focus Scotland
Hm Buchanan Sti‘cct. (ilaxgoxx. (ll-ll 5“: (Will), \\ \\ \\.alcohol-focux- \cotlandorguk With it\ informatnc. acccxxil‘lc “chxitc. thix group offcrx an mccllcnt \ottt'cc of information for pcoplc \xorricd about their drinking. Know the Score (Nit) 587 587‘). \\ \\ \\ .knoxx thcxcorcinfo. ('ontidcntial drugx information. 24 hour\ a da). 7 da_\ \ a \wck (‘allx madc from a landlinc \\ ill not \ho\\ up on a phonc hill and arc frcc. (‘all\ from a mohilc \ar} in coxt dcpcnding on nctuork and ma} \ho“ up on ymr hill. The
\\ Clktlc hth lolx of ad\ it‘L‘ for aii_\onc
1 16 THE LIST 8' Mr ‘-1 »\t"
HEALTH&ADV|CE
.tllL'clt'tl l‘_\ ding“ .tlltl tlc'l.tll\ «\l likal \llpptil'l \L'l'\ Ict‘x
Smokeline moo 5.1 M x1 l;ncouiagcnicnl and \upport toi tlimc \kllti \\.ml to \lnp oi ha\ c icccntl} \ltippc'tl \niokmg;
Mental Wellbeing
National
Breathing Space twill .\ <\ 5x" oi \linicom (lxlill KI" Hill
\\ u \\ lil‘t‘dllllllgflktt't'w'ttll.tlltl co uk (rpm 3am, l'icc. conlidcntial ad\ icc loi' an_\onc lccling lou oi dcpi’cwcd Upllt.
Sexual Health and STDs
Glasgow
Body Positive Strathclyde
‘) Sand} lord I’Iacc. Satlchicliall
Strcct. 24K 0335.
\\ \\\\.l\od} poxitncol‘giik |)i'op lll ccntrc opcn .\lon. \Vcd. l’l'l ‘lam 5pm. 'I'uc & Hm. I lam 3pm. lnloriiiation and \uppot‘l lor pcoplc \kllti .iic ll|\' poxtlnc.
Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic (GUM Clinic) 'l‘ltc Sand} loid lnitiatnc. 3 (i S;ilttl_\litl'd l’lat‘c. Satichicliall Sti'cct. II I Nolll. Drop in clinic\ .\lon l‘l'l H.3“am Illam. H} appointmcnt at otlicr lllllt'\ until "pm .\lon l‘l‘l.
Rape Crisis Centre tiltl 55: 33W). u“u.i';ipcci‘i\i\\cotlandorguk 'l'uc \Vcd a Sun " 0me Thu | 3pm. inc and conlidcntial \cn icc ollcrmg mlormation and \tlppot‘l to miiiicii and girl\ \\ ho ha\ c l‘t‘L'll or tcar lllL‘} ma} haw hccn \c\ua|l} aluixcd or axxaultcd.
Edinburgh
GUM Clinic l.;ttll‘i\lott Building. |.auri\ton l’lacc. 53o Zilli. .\lon l'l‘l Illam 5pm h} appointmcnt. l-'oi‘ urgcnt prohlcmx. tlicrc l\ a walk—in clinic \xhcrc no appointmcut ix ncccsxar} from HM) llltltlam. .\lon l'ri. Edinburgh Women’s Rape 8- Sexual Abuse Centre (il RI 550 0-137. xx\\\\.i';ipcct'i\i\\cot|and.org.uk (‘all for opciiing lltllll'\. Scc Rapc ('rixi\ (’cntrc. (ilaxgtm.
National
National AIDS Helpline (Nil) 507 IN
Sexwise (Nil) 283 930. 7am llpm. l’t‘o\ idcx information and ad\ icc on \c\ua|it} and \cutal licaltli for yum}: PCUPlL‘.
Sources of Advice
National
Crimestoppers (ratio 555 I t I. ('all at an} titttc \xith information about an} crimc. ('allx arc frcc and cannot hc traccd.
Victim Support Line 0345 so 3o will). limotional \upport and practical ad\ icc for ainoiic al'lcctcd h} crimc. lt'x conlidcntial. ol' cout'xc.
Women’s Health & Support
Glasgow
Glasgow Women’s Aid 41h floor. 50 Bcll Sll't‘t‘l. 55.5 2023.
0.30am 4.30pm Mon liri. c\ccpt \Vcd \\lllL‘ll i\ 9.30am lpm for drop-in. and aftcrnoon h} appointmcnt onl}. Drop— in and tclcphonc counxcllmg for
Edinburgh
Edinburgh and Lothian Women’s Aid 4 (’lic_\nc Stt‘cct. 315 Si ll). .\lon. \Vcd. l-‘ri lllam 3pm. Thu 3 7pm. Sat Illam 12.30pm.Rcfugc. \uppoi't and liclp for \xomcn \ufl'cring pinxical. mcntal ot' \c\ual aliuxc from thcir partncrx.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline oxoo 037 123-1124 liouri.
Smack, junk, skag. It’s not surprising that heroin gets horrid sounding nicknames - it is pretty bloody horrid.
Heroin is made from opium, which is the dried milk of the opium poppy, not a trick name then. In its pure form it's a white powder, but it’s usually manky brown on the streets of the UK. In 2000, the British Crime Survey found that 2% of men and 1% of women reported having tried heroin at some time. It’s a class A drug, so that’s seven years in the nicker for possession and up to life and a fine for dealing.
Heroin and other opiates are sedative drugs, which depress the nervous system. They slow down body functioning and can combat both emotional and physical pain, so the effects are a warm feeling of relaxation and detachment lasting several hours, depending on how much is taken. Unpleasant initial reactions such as vomiting and nausea fade with repeated use, which can mean an increase in tolerance, and potentially physical dependence. This is the particularly horrid part.
Injecting leads to an increased risk of catching HIV and hepatitus, but the effects of long term use such as possible pneumonia and decreased resistance to infection are worsened by poor nutrition, self-neglect and bad housing. Regular injectors may suffer other problems including damaged veins, heart and lung disorders.
95% of the UK’s heroin comes from Afghanistan. In 2004 cultivation increased by 64%, with every province in the country now growing it to meet the demand, selling at £40 a gram.
Trying to tackle the problem is proving difficult. If governments in the ‘Golden Cresent’ countries (south west Asia, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan) have enough control in the remote areas used for growing opium that they manage to eradicate a few fields, production will only move elsewhere. Also, trying to persuade a farmer to produce a legal crop that will yield nothing like the financial reward opium does is an uphill battle.
For those living with heroin addiction, there are options for treatment. Methadone is the leading drug for substitute prescribing, but has a reputation among users as being worse to detox from than heroin. Some doctors support the idea of the widespread prescription of heroin (a few specially licensed doctors can at the moment), meaning that pure heroin could be administered in a controlled environment, thus removing the user from dangerous situations and undercutting the illicit market.
Maybe better not to let it get to that stage though, or the prison stage, or the scabby arm stage. Horrid name, horrid drug.