DRUG DEATHS FALLING BUT..STILL ТОО HIGH

Scottish Government urged to act faster as 1051 more lives are lost in 'national tragedy'

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

RENEWED CALLS TO TAKE MARKET OUT OF CRIMINAL HANDS

DRUG deaths in Scotland have fallen by a record 21 per cent but the Scottish Government has admitted the 1051 lives lost were “still too high”.

The figures for 2022 were released following The Daily Record’s long-running campaign to tackle the country’s shamefully high drugs death rates.

The report showed the numbers dropping from 2021’s figure of 1330 – and were the lowest for five years.

Scotland’s death rate is still higher than anywhere in Europe and 2.7 times higher than the UK average, and yesterday there were renewed calls for quicker, more decisive, action from the Scottish Government.

While campaigners and politicians welcomed the sharp decline, they insisted Scotland was still in the grip of a drug death emergency.

Jolene Crawford, from charity Anyone’s Child, lost her cousin Alan to an overdose 15 years ago and urged radical change.

She said: “The recent support in Scotland for decriminalising drugs gives our family hope.