By Professor John Robertson OBA
From 2018 to 2023, the NRS overall drug death rate trend in Scotland (above) is down after decades of increasing steadily before that.
Though up on the 2022 figure, the 2023 figure is still down from 1 187 in 2018, to 1 172 in 2023, a 1.3% fall.
Not much you might say but have a look at the situation across England and Wales for the same period:
From 2018 to 2022, up 12%.
The death rate in Scotland remains significantly higher [277 per million] but the long-term trend is down and the gap is closing, even if we do not mention the probable under-reporting in England & Wales exposed by the UK Civil Service:
First:
The definitions used for drug-related death statistics are consistent across the UK, but there are important differences in data collection methods and in the death registration systems that affect these statistics.Second:
For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the only information received by the ONS and NISRA is what is included on the death certificate. The amount of information varies and can be very limited. For drug-related deaths in Scotland, NRS receives additional information on the drugs involved.
Third:
The differences mean that the amount of information held on drug-related deaths varies across the UK. In 2021, 25.1% of drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales had no information on the specific substances involved. The equivalent figure for Scotland was 1.9%, and for Northern Ireland the figure was 6.6%. The proportion of drug-related deaths where no information about specific substances is known has remained consistent over time in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the proportion of these deaths has been increasing over time in England and Wales, with important consequences for drug-related death statistics.
Fourth:
In most cases a death cannot be called a drug misuse death when no information on the specific substances is known or provided. Because of this, figures for drug misuse are underestimates. But the figure for England and Wales underestimates the number by a far greater extent.
The different levels of missing data mean that the respective figures for drug misuse published by the ONS for England and Wales, NRS for Scotland, and NISRA for Northern Ireland, are not directly comparable.
So, I think this means that around a quarter of all English drug-related deaths are not being counted because the drug is not identified but in Scotland less than a fiftieth fall into this category.
If correct this may mean that not only does Scotland have the highest drug death rate in Europe but so does the whole of the UK.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Scottish Gov funding proper total abstinence rehab facilities £250million over 5 years. Drug deaths will come down. People get the help they need.
MUP alcohol deaths falling
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Comparing Scotland’s data over time is a perfectly valid method by which to track response to changed policy, methodology, funding, etc., but BBC Scotland hawking “comparable” figures UK-wide is a deliberate lie promoted for political propaganda purposes.
It is inconceivable that the drugs problem in Scotland is any worse than it is in England, or that the County Lines scourge in England does not have it’s home equivalent in Scotland, Wales or NI – The desperation heaped on the UK populace by it’s government drives both the supply and demand….
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British Bias media. It seperates Scotland when convenient. Its Scottish Drug deaths but its British Riots. Next it will be British knife death increases.
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