An East Lothian mum who faced a decades-long battle with addiction claims Scotland’s drug death crisis will continue as long as people are cut off from essential wrap-around care.

Lesley Crichton, 43, witnessed a friend die when she was a teenager and has witnessed the death rate go through the roof in the 26 years she has lived with a dependency, reports the Daily Record.

She says doors remain closed to people seeking access to counselling and treatment, including rehab. Lesley first tried smoking heroin when she was a 17-year-old in Tranent, East Lothian .

Since then she has endured many unhappy years that have seen family breakdowns, for which she carries a huge amount of guilt.

Lesley believes there are many more overdose deaths than there should be. The new statistics for 2024

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