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SCOTTISH opposition parties slammed the SNP’s “travesty” of failures on drug policy today, as official statistics revealed that 1,339 people lost their lives to substance abuse last year.
The figure is 5 per cent higher than in 2019/20, when 1,264 people died of drug-related causes north of the border, according to National Records of Scotland.
The country continues to have the worst drug death rate in Europe, with 21.2 deaths per 1,000 of the population — more than three-and-a-half times higher than the rest of Britain.
The data shows opioids remained the number one killer, with 1,192 of the 1,339 deaths related in some way to the substances. But, in a sign that more drug users are mixing, benzodiazepines — use of which has soared due to easy availability — were implicated in 974 deaths last year.
Men were 2.7 times more likely to die from drugs than women — 973 deaths compared with 366 female victims — and the average age of deaths also continued to increase, rising from 32 years old in 2000 to 43 today.
Deprivation remains a major factor, with the poorest 18 times more likely to be killed by drugs than their better-off counterparts, according to the figures, a gap which has doubled in the last two decades.
Reacting to the data, SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that the number of lives lost was a “human tragedy” and that she would continue to argue for reform of drugs law, currently controlled from Westminster.
But Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar argued that those same laws are not leading to similar death rates in England and Wales.
“These [figures] are the tragic consequences of years of failure to get to grips with this growing crisis in Scotland,” he charged.
“We need to look at every option to address this travesty — but we cannot afford to kick this into the long grass when lives are at stake.
“We can and must act now, by investing in a range of services and delivering truly person-centred treatment and recovery.”
Scottish Greens health spokeswoman Gillian MacKay said the figures were proof that the war on drugs had failed.
“It is time for an approach which focuses on restoring people’s dignity and treating their addiction, rather than criminalising them. They need to see urgent action, not more empty words.”
