Police launched an operation on Tuesday after reports of council employees being involved in drugs misuse at a number of West Lothian Council premises. The men, aged 49, 43 and 34, were charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act and will be reported to the procurator fiscal. A spokesman for the council said it was ‘co-operating fully’ and it was not appropriate to comment further. Both drug and alcohol misuse are major public health problems in Scotland. On 30 June NHS Scotland reported, ‘The illicit use of opiates, benzodiazepines and psychostimulants causes significant problems within Scotland. These problems can be social in nature (crime, unemployment, family breakdown and homelessness) or associated with health problems (dependency, overdosing, mental health problems, injecting-related injuries and the transmission of communicable diseases).’ See: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Drugs-Misuse/