A minister who is crusading against drugs deaths wants to set up a scheme for local interventions from the chaplaincy.
The Record recently told how Rev Brian Casey, from Parish Church in , wrote to to tell her how a third of the 500 funerals he has conducted in the past five years have involved overdoses.
After our story, public health minister met Rev Casey and the Church of Scotland minister suggested more involvement from priests and vicars in the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce.
Rev Casey said: “We discussed several issues, including my proposal for a chaplaincy response to drug deaths that would help join up services and flag up problems early.
"I’d like to see us combine with the Scottish Drugs Forum and examine links between drug abuse and suicide.”
Rev Casey added that fake Valium “blues” is a bigger problem in than heroin.
He said: “They are stronger than the Valium they are supposed to be copying. No wonder the deaths keep going up.”
