The First Minister has announced the Scottish Government will be making £166,000 available for those with drug and alcohol dependency issues during the coronavirus pandemic. 

At a daily media briefing, Nicola Sturgeon announced earlier that the funding will be part of a wider campaign which looks to offer support to those with addictions. 

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She said: "The Scottish Government has been working on how we address drug and alcohol misuse with our drugs deaths task force and a number of other organisations including the Scottish Drugs Forum, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and Public Health Scotland.

"Today we're providing funding of £166,000 to support those with drug and alcohol issues. 

"Amongst other things, this will fund a publicity campaign helping people to know where they can get support during this pandemic."

The funding will also improve access to Naloxone, which is a medication that reverses opiate overdoses. 

The First Minister added: "We know that times like these, which are difficult for everyone, are times that people that will need help to deal with alcohol and drug related problems and we want to make sure that help is available."

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It comes as the First Minister also announced there has a further two deaths in Scotland, bringing the death toll to 222 with 3961 confirmed cases of COVID-19.