I'd like to thank the Welsh Government for bringing forward this important debate today.

Substance misuse ruins lives—not only the life of the person using the substance but the family unit as a whole all suffer. There is no winner in these circumstances, unless the person receives the help that is needed. During my time working in a prison, I can assure you I saw so many different individuals—individuals who had shown promise in their earlier lives—wrecked as a result of what has gone on, of what they've taken. And why their lives have taken such a downward spiral nobody can really know, but what prompted them to feel that their life was so negative is something that does need to be looked into before people are imprisoned.

Last year, in Wales, 192 people died from misuse of illegal drugs, over 11,000 drug-related offences were committed, and nearly 24,000 people were referred to substance misuse services.

Wales is unique in the UK in having a unified substance misuse strategy that tackles drug and alcohol misuse, and the Welsh Government have committed £50 million a year to reduce the misuse of substances at a population level. To a certain extent, the strategy is working. There has been a reduction in the numbers taking illicit drugs and abusing alcohol. However, the number of hospital admissions due to substance misuse are increasing, as are substance misuse deaths.

Hospital admissions related to alcohol misuse have fallen by over 6 per cent over the last five years, yet admissions related to illicit drugs rose by nearly 4 per cent in the past year. In older people, this rose by over 15 per cent.

The current strategy is not reducing substance misuse deaths. In the past year, we saw an 8.9 per cent increase in the number of alcohol-related deaths, and a 13.8 per cent increase in drug-related deaths, the highest level since 1993. The level is much higher than in England.

The Office for National Statistics age-standardised mortality rate for deaths related to drug misuse show that, in England, there were 44.1 deaths per 1 million of the population, while the mortality rate for drug misuse in Wales continued to increase, from 58.3 deaths per 1 million population in 2015, to 66.9 deaths per cent deaths per 1 million in 2016, with Wales now having a higher rate of deaths from drug misuse than eight of the regions of England. This coincides with a huge increase in the misuse of synthetic cannabinoids. Last year, there was nearly a 50 per cent increase in the number of young people being admitted to hospital as a result of cannabinoid misuse.

Welsh hospitals are seeing an average of three people per day admitted as a result of using synthetic cannabinoids such as Spice. My own local health board has taken the drastic measure of giving patients high on Spice a general anaesthetic in order to prevent them biting and kicking staff. These drugs are a growing menace in our communities, towns and cities and we have to improve public education about the harms associated with such drugs.

But, unfortunately, it is not only illicit drugs that cause harm. There are growing numbers of people becoming addicted to and abusing prescription and over the counter medication. Last year, there was an increase in the number of people dying as a result of taking paracetamol, fentanyl and oxycodone. The UK’s leading rehabilitation provider reports that they are treating more people for abusing prescription medication than they do for heroin. One of the main factors contributing to this is believed to be access to pain management clinics. In Wales, there has been a large increase in the number of people waiting for pain management. In the last five years the numbers waiting longer than 36 weeks have risen by a staggering 1,500 per cent. In north Wales patients are having to wait around 72 weeks. This is simply deplorable. The Welsh Government needs to take immediate action to reduce waiting times for pain management in order to reduce dependence on strong painkillers and the associated harms that come from long-term use.

The substance misuse strategy has been reviewed and the Welsh Government is due to receive the final report next month. I hope the Welsh Government see this as an opportunity to tweak this strategy. I look forward to seeing an updated strategy that addresses the numbers of deaths as a result of substance misuse and tackles the new challenges facing us. Diolch yn fawr.