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The new moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland believes drug possession should be decriminalised to help aid recovery.

The Rev Iain Greenshields, speaking in a personal capacity, said addiction should be treated as a public health issue.

He said his views were based on his work with church outreach projects and his role as a prison chaplain.

Mr Greenshields, 67, will take up the 12-month role in May.

The father-of-six is the minister of St Margaret's Community Church in Dunfermline.

He said locking up people who are often "self-medicating" to cope with psychological challenges did not work and they should be treated in high-quality residential rehabilitation centres instead.

Mr Greenshields said: "I realise that some people will throw their hands up in horror but I am not saying I support drugs, I am just being realistic and pragmatic about the situation."

Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe - a record 1,339 people died of drug misuse in the country last year.

Mr Greenshields welcomed a recent announcement from Scotland's Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain QC that people caught with Class A drugs could be given a police warning instead of facing prosecution.

He added: "It will require extensive investment in services but I firmly believe that if you can send someone to prison for a year, why can't you send them to rehab for the same length of time as an alternative?"

Mr Greenshields spent eight years serving as a chaplain at the former Longriggend Young Offenders' Institution in Airdrie, and nearby Shotts Prison.

He served as minister at Cranhill near Easterhouse, for nine years, before moving to St Machan Parish Church in Larkhall.

Mr Greenshields and his family moved to the Isle of Skye in 2002 when he became the minister of Snizort Church for five years.

He moved to St Margaret's Community Church in 2007.

Mr Greenshields will succeed the current Moderator of the General Assembly, Lord Wallace of Tankerness.