100 DRUG DEATHS EVERY MONTH

Shock Scots government statistics show rise in overdose fatalities and addicts attending A&E

- MARK McGIVERN

EVERY month 100 Scots are dying from drug overdoses, a shock new government report on the nation’s drug death crisis has revealed. 

The new figures from Public Health Scotland also show more people are showing up at hospital casualty wards with overdoses compared to last year.

Despite Scottish Government promises that more people will get drug treatment, the report shows that from March to June this year the average weekly number of referrals to specialist drug treatment services was down a shocking 15 per cent compared to 2021.

The latest bad news comes just weeks after Scottish drugs policy minister Elena Whitham renewed calls for the Westminster Tories to decriminalise personal drug use – a move the Daily Record has supported.

Political opponents slammed the performance of the SNP government which has presided over huge rises in death numbers since they took power in 2007. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This eye-opening report is a tragic reminder of how much work still needs to be done to prevent drug deaths in Scotland.