Scottish Labour warns of rise in synthetic opioid use

Scottish Labour has warned that a rise in synthetic opioid use “could resemble America’s fentanyl crisis” if it is not acted upon urgently.

Since 2022, more than one dose of naloxone has been administered to a patient by ambulance crews across Scotland on 6,156 occasions, indicating possible synthetic opioid use, according to a freedom of information request from the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Evidence shows that synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and methadone are more resistant to naloxone, meaning that more than one dose is needed to reverse an overdose.

On 273 days this year, up to September 30 2025, there were 729 incidents where more than one dose of naloxone was administered, according to the FOI, but Scottish Labour said data was from a partial year.

The numbers have fallen since 2023, when they were at their highest, according to the FOI.

Methadone is commonly prescribed to heroin addicts, while fentanyl was the main cause of death in America for people between the ages of 18 to 45, according to a statement given to the US Congress in 2023 citing Drug Enforcement Administration statistics.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie MSP warned that Scotland, which is the drugs death capital of Europe, could face a problem on a scale similar to the US unless action was taken urgently.

She called for a policy of decriminalisation to be abandoned.

Official statistics published in September by National Records Scotland show there were  1,017 drug deaths in 2024, a decrease of 13% (155 deaths) compared to 2023.

The NRS report said: “Drug misuse deaths increased over the last two decades to their peak in 2020. They have generally decreased since then, with the exception of a 12% increase in 2023.

“The latest figure is the lowest number registered in any year since 2017.”

The latest Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (Radar) quarterly ​report, issued in October by Public Health Scotland, said that drug-related harms were higher between June and August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, but lower than in 2023.

It said that “contamination of drugs with toxic substances was both common and widespread – over half of Scottish samples submitted for testing did not solely contain the intended purchase”, including a new animal anaesthetic.

Ms Baillie said: “Six years ago, the SNP declared a drug deaths emergency. But six years on lives are still being lost, with families left to grieve and a generation failed.

“SNP ministers must wake up to the new danger of synthetic opioids in our communities – drugs that don’t response to typical doses of naloxone. You need only look at the scale of the problem in America to see what is coming.

“(First Minister) John Swinney’s approach is failing both victims and communities. Dealers are slipping through the cracks and people are dying waiting for help.

“The brutal truth is that we will never get to grips with Scotland’s drugs crisis while the SNP are in charge.

“They must act urgently, by providing routes out of addiction with improved access to rehabilitation services and they must abandon their wrongheaded policy of decriminalising all drugs.

“The Scottish Government must also work closely with Police Scotland, local authorities and health boards to ensure that those making money out of the vile drugs trade are held to account.”

Drugs and alcohol policy minister Maree Todd said: “The increased prevalence of new synthetic substances has been an issue of real concern, not only in Scotland, but the whole of the UK for many years.

“That is why action has been taken and is being taken to respond to the growing threat. I would urge anyone who carries naloxone to have extra life-saving kits with them.

“Drug deaths in Scotland are down 13% and at the lowest level since 2017. But we all want to do more and will continue to work hard to save lives.

“That includes providing record levels of funding for drugs and alcohol programmes, widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone.”