Could Portugal's drug laws help solve Scotland's problems?

Scotland has the highest drugs death rate in Europe, with narcotics claiming more than 100 lives on average every month.

The Scottish government is proposing to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use, to "help and support people rather than criminalise and stigmatise them".

But the UK government, which controls drugs policy, has rejected the plan as dangerous and says it has no intention of giving the Scottish Parliament the power to enact the new policy.

In setting out their proposals, SNP ministers cited Portugal, which relaxed its drug laws in 2001, as a potential model.

Despite having almost double the population of Scotland - 10.3 million compared to 5.5 million - Portugal has far fewer drug deaths. There were just 74 in 2021 compared with 1,330 in Scotland, where the figures for 2022 are set to be published on Tuesday.

Portugal’s architect of decriminalisation, Dr João Goulão, argues that a similar policy could save lives in Scotland.

"We are dealing with a health condition, with a disease, and we do not criminalise other diseases," he tells BBC News.