Scotland's rising drugs death toll is still the worst in Europe as concerns grow over surge in cocaine fatalities

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Scotland's ‘shameful’ drug death toll was laid bare yesterday after a rise of nearly 12 per cent in the past year.

New figures show drugs claimed the lives of 1,172 Scots in 2023 - up 121 from the previous year’s total – in a huge blow to the SNP’s ‘national mission’ to tackle the tragedy.

Cocaine fatalities soared to nearly 500 and now account for more than two out of five of the total, fuelling concern over growing use of the Class A drug among middle-class Scots.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said the rise in drug deaths – which remain the highest in Europe - was ‘unwelcome’ but claimed that the SNP Government’s strategy had ‘led to much being achieved in a short space of time’.

The figures come amid anger over the SNP’s soft touch approach which backs decriminalisation of drugs for personal use and has led to police warnings for people caught with heroin and cocaine.

Cocaine now accounts for more than two out of five drug deaths across Scotland

Last night Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross branded the figures ‘shocking and shameful’, adding: ‘Drug deaths continue to be Scotland’s national shame on the SNP’s watch.

‘Behind this heartbreaking increase in drug deaths are families grieving the loss of loved ones and my thoughts are with all of them.

‘Several years ago, Nicola Sturgeon admitted she took her “eye off the ball” on tackling this emergency - but deaths have continued to increase since then.’

The data, published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), showed drug deaths surged from 1,051 to 1,172 – a daily average of more than three.

The drug death rate in Scotland is 2.7 times higher than the rates in England and Northern Ireland, and 2.1 times higher than the rate in Wales.

In 81 per cent of all drug misuse deaths in Scotland 2023, more than one drug was taken.

Opiates/opioids (such as heroin and heroin substitute methadone) were found in 937 deaths - 80 per cent of all drug misuse deaths.

There were 479 cocaine deaths – 41 per cent of all deaths – up from 371 in 2022, compared to 389 for heroin in 2023, down from 419.

The figures show 514 deaths linked with the heroin substitute methadone, up from 474.

Eight deaths involving fentanyl were recorded – up from six in 2022 - adding to fears over abuse of the drug, which is 50 times more potent than heroin.

Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, were a factor in 74,702 deaths in the U.S. last year - but so far the number of fatalities in the UK has been relatively small.

The SNP has championed plans for a ‘shooting gallery’ in Glasgow where addicts will inject their own heroin under medical supervision, due to open in October.

Last night Dr Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Substance Use Research, condemned the SNP Government’s ‘failed policies’ of ‘supervised drug consumption and life-long methadone’.

He said: ‘It is utterly reprehensible that in the face of a further increase in drug-related deaths, the Scottish Government congratulates itself on its national mission to tackle drug abuse.

‘Our ministers are, it seems, congenitally unable to grasp the fact that the only way to reduce the harms of drug abuse in Scotland is to reduce the number of people using illegal drugs - that means prioritising recovery, rehabilitation, and prevention.

‘It is a further shameful indictment of the incapacity of our political leaders to get on top of this problem that the leading drugs rehabilitation centre in Ayrshire - River Garden - is struggling to survive in the face of inadequate Scottish Government funding.

‘The real story here is not one of success but of persistent and unforgivable failure.’

Phillipa Haxton, NRS head of vital events statistics, said: ‘Today’s statistics show an increase in drug misuse deaths over the last year.

‘The longer-term trend shows that drug misuse deaths are still much more common than they were over two decades ago.’

Glasgow City and Dundee City had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths in 2023 while East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire had the lowest.

The NRS said: ‘People in the most deprived areas of Scotland are more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people in the least deprived areas.’

The proportion of deaths where benzodiazepines were implicated has risen from 26 per cent in 2008 to 58 per cent in 2023 - with street benzodiazepines accounting for the vast majority of these cases, the NRS report said.

Last year’s figures also showed a 16 per cent rise in drugs deaths among males, with the number of men who died rising by 113 to 805 in 2023.

Scotland's health secretary Neil Gray said the Scottish Government is ‘working hard to respond to the growing threat' of synthetic opioids

Some 367 women died from drug misuse, up by eight (2 per cent) from the previous year.

Last night Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said the SNP ‘pledged to reduce drugs deaths, but these distressing figures show just how far it has failed to live up to its promises’.

She said: ‘Each of these numbers represent a human tragedy and a family who are no doubt still grieving today.’

The rise in deaths from drug misuse comes after a fall had been recorded in 2022, with the total dropping by 21 per cent in 2021 to 1,051.

Despite the rise in deaths last year, Mr Gray insisted the Scottish Government’s ‘national mission’ to tackle the country’s drug death problem had ‘led to much being achieved in a short space of time’.

Mr Gray said the Scottish Government was also ‘working hard to respond to the growing threat from highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes’ which were involved in 23 deaths.

He said: ‘My heartfelt condolences go to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through drugs.

‘This level of deaths remains hugely concerning and underlines why we will continue to do all we can to reduce harm and deaths caused by drugs.’