infections on the continent. scotland has by far the highest rate of deaths related to drugs of any country in europe. the most recent figures show a record number of drug related deaths for the seventh year in succession. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, and the leader of the scottish conservatives, douglas ross, have been on a joint visit to a drugs recovery group in what they call a united effort to tackle scotland s ever growing drugs problem. our scotland editor sarah smith reports. drug abuse is killing more than 25 people a week in scotland and ruining the lives of many, many more. the figures are the worst in europe. were you worried ryan would end up in a long prison spell? yeah, aye. either prison or take his own life, i d say. john s son struggled with life threatening drug addiction for years, in trouble with the law, yet the family couldn t access rehab treatment until a charity, the amy winehouse foundation, volunteered to pay for it.
he was begging for help. it was really frustrating. i was trying to break it down to them and say, surely, it costs less to put somebody in treatment than it does in prison, and with treatment you give them a chance. ryan is now in recovery and has a full time job. the dire drugs problem has united the first minister and the scottish conservative leader at a drug recovery facility. but cross party cooperation isn t easy. meeting with former addicts, douglas ross and nicola sturgeon agree urgent action is required. in a policy u turn, the tory leader says he may now support an official consumption facility which would allow people to use illegal class a drugs under supervision. there is a united effort to deal with this national scandal. the fact that so many lives are being lost means no one has got a monopoly on the solutions to this. we can come together
source. they added that the surgeon had told them he had no hand lesions or history of the virus. the women s babies both survived, and their families now want inquests into the deaths. michael buchanan, bbc news, kent. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: scotland s leaders come together to tackle the country s growing drugs problem, the worst in europe. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, it s a funny old world.
the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, and the leader of the scottish conservatives, douglas ross, have been on a joint visit to a drugs recovery group in what they call a united effort to tackle the country s growing drugs problem. figures show a record number of drug related deaths for the seventh year in succession. scotland has by far the highest rate of deaths related to drugs of any country in europe. our scotland editor sarah smith reports. drug abuse is killing more than 25 people a week in scotland and ruining the lives of many, many more. the figures are the worst in europe. were you worried ryan would end up in a long prison spell? yeah, aye. either prison or take his own life, i d say. john s son struggled with life threatening drug addiction for years, in trouble with the law, yet the family couldn t access rehab treatment until a charity, the amy winehouse foundation, volunteered to pay for it. he was begging for help. it was really frustrating. i was trying t
you give them a chance. ryan is now in recovery and has a full time job. the dire drugs problem has united the first minister and the scottish conservative leader at a drug recovery facility. but cross party cooperation isn t easy. meeting with former addicts, douglas ross and nicola sturgeon agree urgent action is required. in a policy u turn, the tory leader says he may now support an official consumption facility which would allow people to use illegal class a drugs under supervision. there is a united effort to deal with this national scandal. the fact that so many lives are being lost means no one has got a monopoly on the solutions to this. we can come together from different ideas from different political sides to come up with a solution that can really make a difference. drugs charities have long advocated that there should be a right to recovery. now the scottish tories are proposing a new law that would give a legal right to treatment to any