Last year, the NRS graph, after a one year fall, showed also the trend in a dotted line with a shaded bandwidth of confidence and a fall from the peak of 1 339 to 1 017, 24%. https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2024/

For some reason, time maybe, this year’s graph does not show the trend.

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Today, to a gleeful media feeding frenzy, we see they’ve gone up again, ‘by 11%’ to 1 133, so the fall from 2020 is now 15% but the trend, sorry MSM, is still down. They had a nice wee increase in 2023 but it was down the very next year. That’s what happens with one year variations but the trend is down, down.

For the first time, I think, the media operating in Scotland is not entirely trying to put this at the door of the Scottish Government and the dread James Cook has offered:

Efforts to save lives over the past year have been hampered by criminal gangs mixing powerful synthetic opioids such as nitazenes with existing drugs including heroin, cocaine and fake Valium pills.

Whose efforts, James? Go on you can say it.

What has the Scottish Government done to reduce drug deaths?

Well there’s 92% of all referrals for drug treatment seen in 3 weeks? https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-january-2026-to-31-march-2026/

And there’s that ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal kit issues to hundreds of thousands at risk? More here:

Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being reported by media

Then why are drug deaths in Scotland not falling faster?

Armed County Lines gangs from England flooding the market with cheap, new, more powerful drugs by selling them from the homes of vulnerable folks in a hundred towns and cities in Scotland? Evidence here:

James Cook still still trying to hide UK Police Chiefs’ evidence that Scotland is victim of drug gangs from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool crossing border to keep drug deaths high

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