Scotland needs an army of 750 new drugs workers if the escalating problem of substance misuse is to be tackled effectively, according to the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), which submitted recommendations to the government last week in the hope they will influence its forthcoming Drugs Strategy for Scotland.
SDF director Dave Liddell said it was time to stop treating drug addiction as a medical problem and more as a social problem. He said the 750 workers proposed by the SDF would be broken down into 200 housing support posts, 200 workers to help drug users find work, 250 family support officers and 100 outreach workers.
Liddell said: "It's about wraparound treatment that goes beyond the medical focus, and those 750 posts recognise that people with drug problems, in most cases, have a range of social problems, and if they are not addressed then the chances of them addressing their drug problem is pretty remote."
He insisted that extra investment for drugs resources should come out of the regeneration budget, which is about £1.6 billion over the next three years.
Liddell said it was clear existing regeneration programmes "don't take full account of the social problems that exist in that community" and instead concentrate on the "bricks and mortar".
"It's not enough to fix housing stock on its own; it's about regenerating the entire community," he said.
"We should look at the models we use for development in third world countries where you start to prepare those communities to become more resilient, and that obviously involves education, training and employment in the local area."
Joy Barlow, head of Scottish Training on Drug and Alcohol (Strada) said it was time for everyone entering social care professions to have basic training in drug and alcohol misuse.
"Very few professionals have drug and alcohol misuse training as part of their pre-qualification or undergraduate diploma. For example, very few school teachers ever really had the opportunity to explore these issues. It is fundamental that teachers are able to identify and intervene with those children who are experiencing drug and alcohol misuse or are living with someone who is.
"The Curriculum for Excellence is going to find it hard to meet its four national characteristics, which include things such as confident learners, if quite a few of them are disadvantaged by life's circumstances, and drug and alcohol misuse can be a disabling life experience for them," she said.
"Drug and alcohol misuse probably impacts every level of professional discipline across Scotland today, and in education and training we are not hitting the spot."
Andrew Horne, director of Addaction Scotland, a drug and alcohol treatment charity, said more staff were needed to address the log jam of drug addicts who were seeking services.
"I met a guy in our service who couldn't even get on a waiting list because he was seen as not priority, and he then doesn't show up on statistics. If you can't get into treatment you can't get into rehabilitation.
"He is left out there and that happens quite a lot. You have a motivated person who can't even stabilise or detox, he can't even get his foot in the door.
"Then there are those who want to get out, but there aren't enough employability workers in the field who can help with training and education."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "We welcome the Scottish Drugs Forum's recommendations and will give them careful consideration as we develop our new drugs strategy."

"For too long the gangsters of the criminal underworld have been able to direct their evil enterprises and operate with apparent impunity, profiting on the backs of decent hard-working Scots and their families.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is proposing new offences of directing or being involved in organised crime.
A consultation on the details of any new legislation is to seek the views of law enforcement organisations and other stakeholders involved in the fight against organised crime.
When introduced the legislation's main objective would be to make it easier to convict those organised criminals who direct criminal operations.
The proposals are expected to be endorsed today at the second meeting of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce. The Scottish Government will then develop proposals to be introduced to the Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
"This Government has already made clear its determination to tackle serious organised crime in all its forms. That includes the criminal kingpins as well as their lieutenants and the foot soldiers who do their dirty work.
"Organised crime is a global issue and already Canada and Ireland are using the law to target the godfathers of serious organised crime. We want to learn from their experiences to help us tackle this menace to our society.
"These new offences will make it easier to convict the so called "untouchables". This Government wants to send a message to these gangsters in Scotland and further afield that there are no "untouchables" in our society.
"We will pursue these parasites with vigour and will be uncompromising in our pursuit of those who peddle drugs and indulge in other criminal activities. That is why we set up the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce which holds its second meeting today.
"We are working together with the police and other law enforcement agencies to put these criminal networks out of business."
The aim of the new offences would be to catch people either directing or being involved in organised crime and for the offence to be covered by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The Scottish Government will consider similar offences that are already in place in Canada and the Republic of Ireland when developing our proposals.
Canadian offence - For the purposes of the Canadian criminal code, a criminal organisation means a group, however organised that:
is composed of three or more persons in or outside Canada; and
has one of its main purposes or main activities the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences that, if committed would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group or by any of the persons who constitute the group.
Irish offence - The Irish model is along similar lines and is contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Organised crime is defined as an element of criminal activity that is carried out by criminal organisations which have as their main purpose the commission of one or more serious offences in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit. The 2006 Act defines a 'criminal organisation' as a structured group composed of three or more persons acting in concert and one which is established over a period of time. A 'serious offence' means an offence for which a person may be punished by imprisonment for a term of four years or more.
Further work is required on the precise terms of the offence being proposed by the Justice Secretary and its penalties. For example, it could be framed as separate criminal offences or a statutory aggravation. It will be subject to a formal consultation process in the normal manner.
The Serious Organised Crime Taskforce was set up by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and brings together key organisations involved in the fight against organised crime including the Crown Office, ACPOS, SCDEA, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Scottish Prison Service amongst others