Scotland's drug deaths remain the highest in Europe despite a 'worrying' 12% increase | Drugs

Scotland continues to have the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe, with ministers there pledging to step up efforts to tackle the problem following a “extremely worrying” 12% rise in deaths last year.

Health Minister Neil Gray said the Scottish Government was also “working hard to respond to the growing threat posed by highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids such as Nitazene”, which were responsible for 23 deaths.

Figures released on Tuesday show a 12% increase in deaths. In 2023, 1,172 people died from drugs in Scotland, 121 more than the previous year.

Gray said: “My deepest condolences go out to all those affected by the loss of a loved one to drugs.

“This number of deaths remains extremely worrying and underlines why we will continue to do everything in our power to reduce drug-related harm and death.”

Agencies that work with drug addicts said the “measurable failures” causing this ongoing public health emergency have remained the same.

Austin Smith, of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: “The old story is that not enough people are getting treatment and when they are, they are not being offered the wraparound care they need to recognise the reasons why they are self-medicating in the first place.”

Data from the National Records of Scotland shows that 80 percent of all drug-related deaths last year were due to opioids such as heroin and methadone, but authorities warned against exaggerating concerns that new substances could be responsible for the rise.

Deaths linked to bromazolam – a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorders, insomnia and seizures – rose from 54 in 2022 to 426 last year, while deaths linked to synthetic opioids known as nitazenes – which have flooded the market in the US since the Taliban disrupted the global drug trade – rose from just one to 23 in 12 months. There was also a sharp rise in cocaine overdoses: the drug was involved in 479 deaths in 2023, up from 371 deaths in 2022.

On Monday, the Scottish Drugs Forum published its own assessment of treatment options available across the country, questioning why targets to improve services and increase the number of people in treatment had not been met three years after then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a “national mission” to tackle the country's chronic and epidemic death rates.

The report states that Scotland has not met the target set by the Scottish Government in March 2022 of increasing the number of people in treatment by 9% by April 2024. Nor have the medication-assisted treatment standards introduced in May 2021 to make services more accessible been fully implemented.

Smith said: “We are failing to build a therapeutic relationship with people. While we can get into the details of prescribing and dosing, it should be about empowering people and helping them with whatever else is going on in their lives, not about making them feel like they are 'parked on methadone', as many people in the report still described.”

Gray said his administration would “intensify our efforts and also work hard to respond to the growing threat posed by highly dangerous, super-potent synthetic opioids.”

He added: “We are taking a wide range of actions as part of our £250 million national drugs mission. These include opening a pilot safer drug use facilities, working to open drug control facilities and expanding access to life-saving naloxone.”