WE MUST SAVE KIDS OF ADDICTS

NO one will be failed to be shocked or moved by by the pitiful image
of a heroin using father lying comatose with two vulnerable children
in his care.

This is the grim reality behind the statistic of 120,000 children in
Scotland living in homes blighted by drug and alcohol abuse. Second
best to drugs or alcohol in their parents' lives, these children
start off in life with a supreme disadvantage.

Their emotional development and educational attainment suffer.

And exposed to drug abuse and criminal activity from an early age,
they too risk becoming addicts themselves later in life.

But there is no easy solution.

It is too simplistic to demand that addicts should automatically have
their children taken from them.

Children put into care can also face an unpredictable future.

Each case should be taken on its own merits.

With the right help, recovering drug addicts CAN overcome their
addiction and maintain relationships with their children.

But the charity Children 1st warns that addicts often have to wait
weeks or even months for the support and treatment they need.

More resources should be made available to tackle this problem.

Some will suggest that junkies are the authors of their own
misfortune and should not be given help.

But the disturbing image of a heroin user oblivious to the plight of
his children shows that addicts are not just hurting themselves.

Their actions have a devastating impact on the lives of others.

Particularly those too young to take care of themselves.

Children must be protected so they don't make the same mistakes as
their parents... and become the next generation of addicts.