Drug deaths have doubled since 2013

Responding to new figures showing that there were 1,051 drug deaths in Scotland in 2022, roughly twice what they were in 2013 when they stood at 527, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has described the crisis as a “plague of the SNP’s own making” and urged the government to finally take radical action to stop people dying.  

People in Scotland’s most deprived areas are now almost sixteen times more likely than those in the least deprived areas to die from drugs.  

Mr Cole-Hamilton commented:    

“This is a painful day for many people across the country. Every death represents a human tragedy and a family in mourning.    

“The drug deaths crisis is a plague of the SNP’s own making. Eight years ago, with rates rising and records already mounting, Nicola Sturgeon saw fit to slash budgets to drug services, sending organisations to the wall and severing support.

“My party has been calling for the decriminalisation of drug misuse for years. If the Scottish Government is at last serious about reform in this area, this will take detailed work both here in Scotland and in partnership with colleagues across the UK and beyond.  

“To finally turn a corner in this crisis, Scottish Liberal Democrats also want to see the immediate introduction of specialist drugs commissions, safe consumption rooms and greater support for both staff and services."