Dundee drug charity calls for investment to tackle addiction

A Dundee drug treatment charity has welcomed recent major heroin seizures in the city, but warned that ongoing investment is needed to help people overcome addiction.

Police have recovered £325,000 of Class A drugs in the last 10 days, with a number of people appearing in court.

Gareth Balmer, project manager at Addaction Dundee, said: “We always welcome the removal of heroin from our communities.

“We can offer all the treatment in the world but recovery from a heroin addiction is made so much more difficult when heroin is easily available in our community.

“We can only deal with our cities’ drug problems if we come at it from more than one angle.

“Reducing demand for drugs by improving lives of people in our communities and offering quick access to effective treatment and by reducing the supply of heroin through enforcement actions like Police Scotland recent local seizures.

“But we must remember seizures of this size make only a small and temporary dent in the supply of drugs and we must continue to invest in treatment to help people overcome addiction.”