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Professor John Robertson OBA
Drug deaths have always been more prevalent in poorer communities. In Scotland, half of all drug deaths are from among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods.1
According to research recently published by David Walsh and Gerry McCartney2, of Glasgow University, drug deaths amongst the most deprived communities in Scotland had begun to climb from around 2003 to 2009, under New Labour and then again, but far more dramatically, from around 2012 to 2019 under the Conservative Government.
Amongst the least deprived, drug deaths were largely unaffected by austerity policies such as, of course, reduced or withdrawn benefits but among the most deprived 20%, already making up 50% of all drug deaths, the consequences were extreme and horrific, with the death rate more than doubling, sickeningly, from around 45 per 100k to more than 100 per 100k, in only 8 years, between 2012 and 2019. In crude terms, just for this group (20% of the population) this meant a horrifying increase from around 2 450 deaths per year to 5 400 per year.
Walsh & McCartney put it bluntly and heartbreakingly:
Within a year or two of the introduction of austerity, people sought a way out. They looked for oblivion.
Very simply this means that the level of drug deaths in Scotland is almost entirely a consequence of the economic policies of the Conservative Government in the UK, cutting and withdrawing benefits from those most vulnerable – addicts.
Some will, of course, try to blame the Scottish Government for inadequate service provision for addicts but this does not survive a collision with the facts. NHS Scotland has historically and consistently treated between 90% and 95% of around 20 000 referrals per year for drug and drug/alcohol co-dependency.3 The target is 90%. This success is, of course, never reported by media.
Sources:
- https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2024/october/analysis-reveals-families-and-communities-impacted-by-drug-related-deaths-in-scotland/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20drug%20related%20deaths,drug%20related%20death%20in%202020.
- Walsh, D. and McCartney, G. (2024) Social Murder? Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK, Policy Press, Bristol
- https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-april-2024-to-30-june-2024/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The week before last research in England revealed that drug deaths were not fully reported as such It was discovered that 16000 weren’t counted Whereas I believe in Scotland figures about drug deaths are more accurate What could this mean Does England have a much worse problem than has erstwhile been reported
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Indeed. See this we posted two days ago: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2025/09/22/now-a-second-research-report-casts-doubt-on-actual-level-of-drug-deaths-in-england-but-still-they-surge-toward-scotlands-steadily-falling-level/
John
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I really don’t think it’s got anything to do with which government is in power, nor even austerity. It’s the legacy of the 1980s drug boom. These deaths are predominantly older drug users succumbing after decades of drug abuse. In other words, what we’re currently seeing is the symptom of the rise in drug culture from 3-4 decades ago.
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