Quarterly suspected drug deaths figures highest since June 2021

Suspected drug deaths in Scotland have reached their highest recorded number in a single calendar quarter since 2021.

The Scottish Government published the quarterly report into suspected drug deaths in the country using Police Scotland management data.

There were 1,092 suspected drug deaths in the whole of 2022 – 203, or 16%, fewer than the whole of 2021, according to official data.

But 295 of these suspected deaths occurred in the final quarter of the year – from October to December 2022. This was 60 more – or 26% – than the previous quarter and 2% more than the same calendar quarter in 2021, when there were 288 suspected deaths.

This is the highest number of suspected drug deaths recorded in a single calendar quarter since April to June 2021.

The data is based on police officers’ initial inquiries at the scene of death and is not official drug death data.

Males accounted for 70% of all suspected drug deaths in 2022, compared with 73% from the previous year.

And the number of suspected drug misuse deaths in females fell by 31 to 325 in 2022.

The data also showed 66% of suspected drug deaths involved people aged 35 and 54, with 55 suspected deaths in the under-25 category – 19% fewer than 2021.

Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh city recorded the highest number of suspected drug deaths across police divisions, with 214, 118 and 113 respectively.

The Scottish Government has been attempting to increase access to rehabilitation and support for problematic drug use, including opening two family rehab centres.

Drug policy minister Angela Constance said: “Firstly, I want to extend my deepest sympathy to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through drugs.

“This latest quarterly report on the number of suspected drug deaths indicates a rise in the final three months of 2022 but suggests that over the course of the year there was a 16% decrease in the number of deaths compared with 2021.

“While I give a cautious welcome to this report, I am aware that it uses management information provided by Police Scotland and is based on attending officers’ observations and initial inquiries at the scene of death.

She said efforts are ongoing to assess what more needs to be done to crackdown on Scotland’s drug deaths, with an additional £250 million invested to tackle the “public health emergency”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the figures show First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will leave behind an “appalling legacy”.

He said: “Every drug death is preventable so I will never understand why the SNP, by its own admission, took its eye off the ball and chose to ignore the crisis as it unfolded. I find that impossible to accept.

“As Nicola Sturgeon departs Bute House, she leaves behind an appalling legacy that is this country’s drug deaths crisis. Radical change is needed, and it is needed quickly.”

Scottish Conservative drugs spokeswoman Sue Webber said the increase is “completely intolerable”.

She added: “Scotland’s drug deaths rate – still by far the worst in Europe – disgraces the nation and is arguably the worst of Nicola Sturgeon’s many failings as First Minister.

“By her own admission, she took her eye off the ball, and these figures show that the SNP are no closer to getting on top of this national emergency.

“It’s a damning reflection of their priorities that drug deaths have barely featured in the party’s bitter leadership battle.”

Dr Susanna Galea-Singer, chair of the Addictions Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Scotland, said: “These statistics are heart-breaking as well as deeply worrying.

“While the announcement of the £68 million cross-government action plan was most welcome, the Scottish Government must do better. They must make sure services, workforce and funding is sustained overtime.”