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Professor John Robertson OBA
From Public Health Scotland‘s Drug-related hospital statistics Scotland 2022 to 2023 on 16 April 2024 (Latest release):
There were 9,663 drug-related hospital stays. The European Age-sex Standardised Rate (EASR) of drug-related hospital stays was 182 stays per 100,000 population. This rate decreased for a third consecutive year, from a peak of 283 per 100,000 population in 2019/20.
The highest substance-specific stay rate (81 per 100,000 population) was for opioids (drugs similar to heroin). This rate decreased for a third consecutive year, from a peak of 141 per 100,000 population in 2019/20.2
What is the Naxolone Initiative?
After a pilot phase ending in 2018, the Scottish Government began to embed Naloxone opioid overdose reversal kits across NHS Scotland. Shortly after, the kits which can be administered by anyone, were adopted by Police Scotland, ambulances and prisons, and made available to libraries, community centres, taxi drivers and to the friends and relatives of users.
Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose.
Anyone in Scotland can now order a free naloxone kit from national charity Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs (SFAD) and be trained in its use.
Opioids such as those found in prescription painkillers are now responsible for 81% of all drug deaths in Scotland.
Why are Scotland’s drug deaths not falling faster given the Naloxone scheme’s impact?
County Lines gangs seek new markets along public transport lines, in small towns and rural areas where local dealers can be dominated with threats of extreme violence and a property can be taken over. Using their scale of operations, these gangs can transport and sell more powerful drugs, more cheaply, using couriers as young as 11, to users unused to the low costs and higher strength. Increased drug deaths is a simple and predictable consequence. These same gangs, entirely from English cities, were first reported in Scottish towns, up the east cast rail lines to places such as Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Inverness and Wick, around 2019, just as Scotland’s drug deaths had begun to plateau and, in 2021, fall.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The ‘Scottish’ media angle will be ‘number of opioid kits soars to 8 times as much in 12 years’.
’That’s pure bad,’ says Jackie Baillie.
’This is a drag on the public purse’ – Tory spokesperson.
‘If this programme had started in 2000, we’d have an even bigger number to complain about’ – Alex Cauld-Ham.
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Didn’t the BritEngNat parties and English government ban the ScotGov proposal to introduce measures to reduce drugs use and deaths not so long ago. The so called media, and the BritNat jobsworths at Holyrood are an absolute disgrace, they’d rather people die than see positive policies implemented in Scotland, I don’t know how they sleep at night.
Good to see SNP have done some work on this, albeit agianst huge odds and restrictions by the EngUKGov.
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