1,339 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland, the highest number since records began - your views online

"How about safer practice? Open conversation about the problems and how to work as a community to help?”

Picture, John Devlin. 14/02/2020. GLASGOW. Springburn Parish Church, 180 Springburn Way, Glasgow, G21 1TU. A man leaves a cross for his brother. He has a tatoo in memeory of his broyher, Big Ped McGratten. Favor Scotland plant 200 crosses on Valentine’s Day for drug death victims. Faces & Voices of Recovery UK. Favor Scotland plant 200 crosses on Valentine’s Day for drug death victims Drug death campaign group Favor Scotland will plant 200 crosses this Valentine’s Day to remember those lost to drug-related deaths in the last few months alone. Favor (Faces and Voices of Recovery) hold their seventh monthly gathering at Springburn Parish Church today, Friday, where they plant the memorial crosses with the help of volunteers and people in recovery. The group have been campaigning for £15.4 million funding towards residential rehabilitation services in the 2020/21 Scottish Budget. At the moment, the Scottish Budget proposals claim to increase funding to tackle drug deaths by 60 per cent. However, Favor have said the increase is “nowhere near enough” and not close to 60 per cent as there is only an extra £12.7 million allocated for Obesity, Tobacco Alcohol and other Drugs. Annemarie Ward, CEO of Favor Scotland, said: “While everyone is understandably thinking of their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, we’re going to take a few hours out to remember the hundreds of people we’ve lost to drug deaths in the past few months. “Behind every one of those drug deaths is a family in mourning and a community of friends who have lost someone. “These people could have been saved if the Scottish Government had invested in residential rehabilitation beds and provided better access to recovery treatment services over the last decade. “The number of rehab beds has dropped below 100 at the same time as the number of drug deaths jumped to over 1,000. “People need to be offered rehab beds and access to support that puts them on a path to recovery. Subst

Scotland drug deaths

1,339 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland, the highest number since records began

Dottie May

I am so sorry to hear that. It's an amazing country and the people are so friendly. Hopefully, something can be done to change this very soon.

Kel Lindsay

Probably because people are bored and stressed; we can almost certainly blame that on the lockdown.

Paul Bathgate

Time to hold our SNP government to account, but nah.... independence is always top of the agenda!

Joe Phair

Cue more hair-brained, money wasting schemes from the stupid national party!

Corinna Proud

I mean, they're not wrong? How about safer practice? Open conversation about the problems and how to work as a community to help?

Ross Lyall

Sad, but they know the risks.

K-j Morrison

My understanding is that should drug laws be devolve, then Scotland would implement a model similar to Portugal, while the UK government don’t see it as being authoritarian enough and rejected this model.

Martin Given

No easy way out of this in my view. People dont get addicted from taking a drug one time, continuous consumption creates the addiction and then they are trapped in the vicious circle. The same goes for smoking and drinking and obesity. Yes, these people need help, but there is only so much you can do. Drugs have been available for thousands of years, does anyone really think that we would cure this within a few generations?

Jim Monaghan

Any type of substance abuse - drugs, alcohol, glue sniffing etc - particularly where deaths occur, is a regrettable tragedy and shouldn't be politicised for party gains! The Scottish government has put forward proposals to tackle this issue to the UK government who control "devolved" drug reserved matters, but Westmonster has rejected the proposition! England's shame.....alcohol killed more people in 2020 in England and Wales than in any of the previous 20 years, official data shows. There were 7423 deaths from alcohol misuse last year - a rise of 20 per cent from 2019, the Office for National Statistics says.

Doctor Who

Jodie Whittaker has confirmed she will be leaving her role in 2022, the BBC have confirmed. Who would you like to see become the next Doctor?

Elaine Rose Hamilton

Defo Michael Sheen, he’d make a great Doctor.

Lynsey Macfadyen

Richard Ayoade would be a good fit for an anti-social doctor.

Sofia Vicedomini

I’d love to see transgender representation in the Doctor Who universe, a transgender doctor would be so wonderful.

Peter Garland

There is only one person it can be, Romesh Ranganathan. Susan Calman will probably get it. Gradually it loses credibility until it is just a homeopathic dose of what it once was.

Ricky Pryde

I think the name “Dr Who” should be changed to a “Dr What” because some people are offended at who?

Marina Dossena

Well, it's either me or David Tennant, if he's not busy.

Euan Gerard Keenan

Olly Alexander, obviously.

Alex Weir

Piers Morgan.

Mel Reilly

Micheal Sheen, Brian Blessed, Robert Carlyle or James Nesbitt.

Steven Walker

Micheal Sheen is a good shout. He’s Welsh, and Doctor Who is made in Cardiff. So a perfect fit, I think.

Paul McVitie

Andrew Scott or Ben Wishaw.

Fred Legget

Boris…he’s got the hairstyle for it.

Sheila Down

It'll be a woman again.

Hugh Mccauley

Donald Trump.

Viv Atherton

Rick Mayall would have been a fab doctor, Dawn French, David Williams or Matt Lucas, Susan Calman, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Grint. I’m not bothered what gender the doctor is to be honest, the barrier has now been broken and as we know the doctor changes It could never be set in stone.

Lynsey Macfadyen

Hugh Lawrie would be fab!

Dario Dalla Costa

Alan Davies