Party politics has no place in tackling Scotland's shameful and growing drug-deaths crisis
As new synthetic drugs cause ‘death and destruction’, Scotland’s political parties must work together to try to save lives
When last year’s drug-deaths figures were announced, Ant Lehane, of the charity Cranstoun, warned this country could be “sleepwalking into a public health emergency”. Writing in The Scotsman, he said: “Scotland already has a well-documented drug crisis but an influx of cheap, extremely potent synthetic opioids could manufacture an emergency situation many times worse than the peak of drug-death crisis in 2020.”
So the increase in the number of deaths in 2025, up by 11 per cent on the previous year to 1,133, was not unexpected. Drugs minister Maree Todd said of the figures: “We’ve seen a rise in synthetic opioids that are exceptionally potent and causing death and destruction on our streets.”
The fact that our drug-death rate was already the worst in Europe by far before this new scourge arrived means one deadly crisis is being heaped on top of another.
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Law enforcement and rehab facilities
Asked about former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s shocking admission in 2021 that her government had taken its “eye off the ball” on drug deaths, Todd said: “My eye is absolutely on the ball.” However, she may regret claiming that “we are making progress”. The only measure of progress that counts is a sustained reduction in the loss of life.
How that is achieved is much debated, but it must involve a multi-faceted approach. We need strong enforcement of the law to ensure criminal networks are broken up and enough prison cells to lock up the dealers.
But we should also treat addiction as a public health issue. People need to be able to access potentially life-saving rehab facilities and it remains a shame that ex-Conservative MSP Douglas Ross’s Bill, giving addicts a legal right to treatment, was thrown out last year.
Safe consumption rooms are controversial and we have serious concerns but, on balance, believe it is worth continuing a limited trial. Anything that might save lives must be considered.
Ultimately, however, it is the root causes of these ‘deaths of despair’ which must be tackled – chief among them, poverty. Scotland’s drug-deaths scandal is stain on the soul of this nation that our leaders must work together to expunge, rather than seek to exploit for cheap party political purposes.