Drug deaths Scotland: Number of annual deaths falls more than 20% in result welcomed by Scottish Government

Drugs and alcohol policy minister Elena Whitham has welcomed a record fall in the number of drug-related deaths

Scotland has recorded its lowest level of drug deaths in five years – and the largest ever fall in the figures.

A total of 1,051 deaths were recorded due to drug misuse last year – a drop of more than 20 per cent on 2021 in a result that has been welcomed by the Scottish Government.

The latest statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed a decrease of 279 deaths compared with the previous year, representing the lowest number of drug misuse deaths since 2017.

Scotland's drug-deaths rate has fallen. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

It is the second year in a row that drugs deaths have fallen – although the total for 2021 dropped by just nine from the record high seen in 2020, when 1,339 people died.

The data also showed the rate of “drug poisoning deaths” in Scotland in 2021 – the most recent year for which comparisons are available – was 2.7 times higher than average for the UK.

NRS said that despite this fall, drug misuse deaths are still more common than they were two decades ago. After adjusting for age, there were 3.7 times as many drug misuse deaths in 2022 compared with 2000.

Glasgow City and Dundee City had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths over the last five years while East Renfrewshire and Aberdeenshire had the lowest rates.

Opiates and opioids, including heroin, morphine and methadone, were implicated in more than eight out of 10 drug related deaths in 2022.

Meanwhile, benzodiazepines – such as diazepam – were implicated in 601 deaths, while cocaine was involved in 371 fatalities.

And there were 476 drug misuse deaths where controlled, new, psychoactive substances were implicated, with some deaths having involved more than one type of drug.

During a visit to ‘Back on the Road’ employability project that helps people in recovery from addiction issues, drugs and alcohol policy minister Elena Whitham said: “My sympathy goes out to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through drugs.

“While I am pleased to see that hundreds of families have been spared this agony and lives have been saved, every life lost is a tragedy and the number of deaths is still too high.

“I will never underestimate the scale of the challenge we continue to face, including responding to new threats such as synthetic opioids and stimulant use. I can see that our work across Scotland, where we have already supported 300 grass-roots projects, including ‘Back on the Road’, is gathering pace, and I’m grateful to all those delivering vital services.

“As part of our £250 million National Mission on drugs, we’ll continue to focus on getting more people into the form of treatment and support they need, expand access to residential rehabilitation and drive the rollout of life-saving Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards where we are making significant progress.

“As we highlighted in our recent drug law reform proposals, the UK Government could do more to work with us to help introduce harm reduction measures.”

The Scottish Government has been pressing for a safe consumption facility to be set up, with efforts on this having so far been blocked by Westminster.