A former nurse turned politician this week insisted she is going down all avenues to prevent more lives being cut short by drugs in Dumfries and Galloway.
South of Scotland MSP Emma Harper was saddened to learn that the rate of drug deaths in this region had climbed from 22 in 2020 to 35 in 2021 – one of the biggest rises in the country.
While heroin and methadone overdoses remain the number one cause of death, this is followed closely by people dying due to mixing benzodiazepines, such as diazepam or the illicit version ‘street valium’, with other drugs and alcohol.
