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'Drugs broke me as a person' - Chris Middlemass

Before he turned 16 Chris Middlemass had tried cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and amphetamines.

But it was only when he began using heroin in his mid-20s that things really fell apart.

"That just ruined my life," he said. "It wasn't like I turned into someone robbing a granny or breaking into houses or anything like that but as a person it broke me. I just felt like scum."

Mr Middlemass was speaking on the day it was announced that the number of people who died of drug misuse in Scotland last year dropped slightly to 1,330 - the first time the figure has been down in eight years.

28 July 2022

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