Displaying items by tag: minister for drugs

Scotland has been marked by the devastating impact of drug and alcohol addiction in many ways. Today, the nation is at the forefront of addiction related issues and deaths in Europe, with health, economic, and educational repercussions, and social challenges for families and communities in urban and rural environments. The widening mental health crisis, socio-economic challenges, and limited clinical support exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic have led to the highest increase in addiction issues in over ten years. But we are a nation with hope. For decades, Christian organisations have invested tremendously in the building of in-person and online spaces for drug addiction recovery. Within the last decade, over 2,300 individuals have been directly treated and successfully recovered from their addictions through faith-based recovery programmes, with thousands more impacted in some way. The Scottish government has appointed a minister for drugs policy and increased funding to reduce addiction.