Drug deaths fall in Scotland but major problems persist

The number of people dying from drug misuse in Scotland has fallen for the first time in five years but remains well above every other country in Europe.

Figures released by National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that in 2022,1 even with the decrease, Scotland’s drug deaths were still 3.7 times higher than in 2000.

Most of the 1051 deaths recorded last year were due to accidental drug overdoses, leading to a warning from the Scottish Drugs Forum that the …