Our campaign on drugs deaths was long overdue and based on one goal – saving lives.
A 27 per cent increase in the number of deaths was shameful and nobody seemed to be backing the tough decisions necessary to get to grips with the underlying problems.
The Record’s call for the decriminalisation of drugs was based on the idea that treating addicts as criminals was not working. We backed the experts and called for the issue to be t reated as a public health crisis .
Our hard-hitting campaign has forced people to challenge their own assumptions. The SNP – once cool on decriminalisation – adopted the policy at their recent conference.
Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee, comprised of MPs across the political spectrum, is the latest body to back our call.
Committee chairman Pete Wishart, an SNP MP, has said: “Decriminalisation is becoming the new normal in modern societies and I am sure that is the way we will go in the UK in time.”
The SAC also backed a drug consumption room for Glasgow, an idea shamefully blackballed by the UK Government. Scottish Government cuts to drug rehab services have also rightly been criticised.
A consensus has now emerged that the status quo is failing and a new approach is required. With all this evidence and expert opinion, you would expect the Tories, whose consent is needed to make the changes, to give the issue the utmost importance.
But guess what? They fail to listen to the experts and continue to trot out the same old cliches while addicts die unnecessarily.
They cannot prevaricate any longer. Heed these calls and start saving lives.
Message of hope
The tragedy of 39 poor souls who died in a lorry as they tried to enter the UK shocked the world.
It was symbolic of the “fortress Britain” that has been built as a way as deterring foreigners from entering the country.
In these harsh times, it is uplifting to find examples of people from overseas finding happiness in Scotland.
Look no further than St Rollox, a new church in the north of Glasgow, where former asylum seekers flock to every week.
The £2.5million church opened up as part of the £250million regeneration of the Sighthill area. The Rt Rev Colin Sinclair, who is the moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, recently welcomed hundreds of people to a special service to mark the church’s opening.
St Rollox shows what happens when people work in a spirit of solidarity and is an inspiring example of the best of humanity.
Jack & Victorious
STILL Game’s Jack and Victor, played by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, are among the most memorable Scots TV characters in decades.
The cult comedy about two Scottish pensioners is as funny as it is moving.
It is only fitting Ford and Greg receive the Outstanding Contribution to television award at the Scottish Baftas.
Maybe the accolade will lead to a comeback.
