Comment on today’s publication by National Records of Scotland of the official number of deaths due to drugs misuse in 2022. It indicates there were 1,051 fatalities during the 12 months.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “These heart-breaking figures illustrate the scale of Scotland’s drugs-death crisis – yet behind them lie 1,051 avoidable personal and family tragedies.
“While these latest numbers indicate some progress is being made from an utterly catastrophic base, Scotland’s appalling fatality rate means we remain the drugs-death capital of Europe by an enormous and alarming distance.
“SNP ministers have a duty to explain why, in Nicola Sturgeon’s words, they took their eye off the ball as this national emergency spiralled out of control and cut money from drug treatment programmes.
“If they are ever to get fully on top of a crisis which shames the nation, they must stop talking about decriminalisation of drugs and finally embrace the Right to Recovery Bill.
“This landmark legislation, which has the backing of experts in the field of addiction, would tackle the problem of accessing treatment by enshrining in law the right of everyone to receive a recovery programme tailored to their needs.
“Humza Yousaf has made supportive comments on Right to Recovery; now is the time for him to finally rally the SNP behind it, so that we can get this game-changing bill into law.”
Notes
In 2022 there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in Scotland. This is 279 deaths fewer than in 2021. The rate of drug misuse deaths is still much higher than at the beginning of the series in 1996. (Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2022, 22 August 2023, link).
Scotland continues to have the worst drug death rate in Europe. In 2022, Scotland had a drug deaths rate of 248 deaths per million people. Comparatively, the latest estimates for England and Wales had 84.4 deaths per million, meaning Scotland’s drug death rate is almost three times higher. (Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2022, 22 August 2023, link; Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2021 registrations, 3 August 2022, link).
Drugs deaths continues to disproportionately affect those in the most deprived areas. People in the most deprived areas of Scotland are almost 16 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people in the least deprived areas. (Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2022, 22 August 2023, link).