Scotland recorded the highest rate in Europe
Drugs deaths in Scotland have reached a record high, with more people dying due to substance abuse in 2020.
A total of 1,339 deaths last year were attributed to drugs, up from 1,264, new statistics have revealed.
This was down slightly on the increase between 2018 and 2019 of 6%.
The annual statistics from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the rate of deaths in Scotland is some 3½ times that of the UK as a whole.
It is also higher than any other European country.
As figures rise again across the country, the number of drug-related deaths per million people in Dundee fell compared to 2020.
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THE long-delayed publication of the Scottish drug death statistics for 2019 inevitably created a lot of media interest. It’s becoming an annual event, but not one to celebrate. Then there is the political fallout with demands for greater investment in drug treatment services and calls for the Public Health Minister to resign. It’s understandable that the general reaction is one of dismay, frustration and anger – how can this be happening in Scotland? Why us? The answers to these questions are unhelpfully complex and the solutions equally challenging. Each one of these 1264 deaths is an avoidable tragedy which leaves a legacy of pain and misery for those that were close to them.