Toll of drug deaths hits fresh high, with worse to come

Published on Thursday 7 August 2008 22:29

THE human cost of drug abuse in Scotland could spiral higher in years to come, a minister warned yesterday as figures revealed a record number of deaths from heroin, cocaine and other substances.

Some 455 drug-related fatalities were recorded last year, more than double the 1997 figure and 8 per cent more than the previous year.

And deaths from cocaine reached a new high, with the drug claiming an average of nearly one person a week – ten times the level in 1997.

Fergus Ewing, Scotland's community safety minister, yesterday warned that the figures could get worse over the next few years as a generation of older heroin addicts succumbed to years of abuse.

"In the short term these figures may continue to rise – partly because of the cumulative effects of abuse on older drug users – but that doesn't mean we should sit back and accept it," he said.

Of last year's deaths, almost two in three involved heroin or morphine.

The heroin substitute methadone was involved in 114 deaths – 25 per cent of the overall total, and the sedative diazepam in 79 cases – 17 per cent of the total.

And there were 47 involving cocaine and 11 involving Ecstasy. Alcohol was present in 157 of the deaths.

David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: "We have a huge drugs problem in Scotland, with many services overwhelmed by demand."