Suspected drug deaths in Scotland up by a third in three months

Suspected drug deaths in Scotland have risen by a third in the first three months of this year, “devastating” figures have revealed.

There were 308 such deaths over the period January to March, with this total up by 33% on the last three months of 2024.

The figures come after the UK’s first safer drugs consumption room, the Thistle centre in Glasgow, opened for a three-year pilot in January this year as part of Scottish Government efforts to reduce Scotland’s drugs deaths.

The said that “suspected drug deaths in Scotland remain at a high level” – with such cases up by 76 when compared to the final three months of 2024.

However, the Scottish Government report stressed that “numbers of suspected drug deaths fluctuate from quarter to quarter”, adding that “care should be taken not to interpret movements between individual calendar quarters as indicative of any long-term trend”.

And the data also showed a decrease in the number of suspected drugs deaths over the course of the year.

There were 1,053 suspected drugs deaths in the 12 months to March 2025 – meaning there were 166 (14%) fewer such deaths than in the 12 months to March 2024, when the total was 1,219.

With Scotland having had the highest rate of drugs related deaths in Europe, the Government has a “national mission” to reduce the numbers losing their lives to drugs.

Speaking as Tuesday’s figures were published, health secretary Neil Gray said: “Every death is a tragedy and through our £250 million national mission we are determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths. My condolences go to anyone who has lost a loved one. ”

Gray added: “While these figures show a quarter-on-quarter rise in suspected drug deaths, they also note a year-on-year fall.

“We want every person experiencing harm to be able to access the support they need.

“We are taking a wide range of evidence-based measures including opening the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility pilot, working towards drug-checking facilities and widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone.”

However, Scottish Conservative spokesperson for drugs, Annie Wells, hit out and said: “These devastating figures should be a source of shame for deluded SNP ministers, whose strategy to tackle drug deaths is clearly failing.”

The Tory MSP accused the Scottish Government of being “completely detached from the reality of this national crisis which has spiralled to record levels on their watch”.

She said that ministers had “been at pains to trumpet the opening of The Thistle in Glasgow as a game-changing solution”, but added that “the number of Scots suspected to have tragically lost their lives to drugs has risen sharply since it opened”.

Wells said: “It is clear that facility is feeding addiction, rather than helping to treat addiction.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton pointed out that “100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis”, saying this is “nothing short of a national tragedy”.

Adding that “drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland”, he said his party “would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves”.

Cole-Hamilton added: “From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug-checking facilities, it’s time ministers listened to our calls.”

The demand for action came as the Scottish Government’s figures showed that the Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire police divisions had the highest number of suspected drugs deaths in the first three months of this year, with 61, 36 and 33 such fatalities in those areas respectively.

Almost four out five (79%) of those who died were male, the figures showed while 63% of deaths occurred amongst those aged 35 to 54 years old – with this said to be “broadly in line” with other quarters.

However, there were nine suspected drugs deaths involving people aged under 25 in the period January to March, with this up from four such deaths in the final three months of 2024.