Anger at author's slur on drug levels in Scots capital

In a new book, the American commentator suggests that the "beautiful" capital has been blighted by widespread narcotics abuse.

His comments were yesterday condemned his comments as "absolute rubbish".

In Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia, he writes that Britain suffered from only minor drug problems until the 1970s, with heroin addicts generally treated by doctors as patients instead of "criminals".

Vidal adds: "We [America] promptly leaned, as they say, on the British to criminalise the sale and consumption of drugs, and now the beautiful city of Edinburgh is the most drug-infested place in Europe."

But front-line addiction workers in the city today disputed the allegations.

Ray de Souza, the lead officer with Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: "Edinburgh is now far from ‘the most drug-infested city of Europe’. That comment is factually incorrect and flies in the face of evidence from other cities in the UK, let alone Europe. Much has been done to address the drug problem in Edinburgh since the days and images reflected in Trainspotting."

Donald Anderson, the leader of Edinburgh City Council, said: "Everyone appreciates that drugs are a problem not only in Edinburgh but all cities across the world. To say Edinburgh is the most drug-infested place in Europe is ridiculous."

Mr Anderson added that the local authority was in the process of appointing a drugs co-ordinator to oversee efforts in the field.

Alistair Ramsay, the director of Scotland Against Drugs, claimed it was impossible to make such sweeping statements about drug problems in different cities. He said: "There is certainly no doubt that in the 1980s there was a huge heroin problem in Edinburgh due to ‘shooting galleries’ where addicts shared needles to inject drugs.

"But I think it’s very difficult today to say the drugs problem in the Capital is really any worse than that in any other city in Scotland."

Vidal achieved fame with novels including The City and the Pillar and Myra Breckinridge.

Figures compiled by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction suggest that countries including Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Sweden average between two and three drug injectors per 1,000 inhabitants in the 15-54 age-group.

The UK, with 6.6 drug injectors per 1,000 inhabitants; Italy, with 7.7; and Luxembourg, with 8.4, feature significantly higher abuse rates.