Original title: Scotland’s drug deaths expected to remain worst in Europe
Scotland’s drug deaths expected to remain worst in Europe 3 hours ago Share Save James Cook Scotland editor Share Save Getty Images Scotland has seen high numbers of people dying from drug misuse for the last seven years Figures to be published on Tuesday are expected to show that Scotland remains the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row. In 2023, there were 1,172 drug misuse deaths in Scotland, bringing the total in a decade to 10,481, according to official figures. Although experts expect that number to have dropped slightly for 2024, they are warning that any fall will almost certainly be a blip. Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum says the arrival of deadly synthetic opioids known as nitazenes in the country is “a crisis on top of a crisis.” Suspected deaths early this year “are already higher than they were last year” she said. How did we get here? This is a crisis with deep roots in the social and economic changes which swept thro