Suspected drug deaths in Scotland have reached their highest recorded number in a single calendar quarter since 2021.
The Scottish Government publishes a quarterly report into suspected drug deaths using Police Scotland management data.
There were 1,092 suspected drug deaths in the whole of 2022 – 203 fewer than the whole of 2021.
But 295 of these suspected deaths occurred in the final quarter of the year - 26 per cent higher than the previous quarter and two per cent more than the same calendar quarter in 2021.
This is the highest number of suspected drug deaths recorded in a single calendar quarter since April to June 2021.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said that Nicola Sturgeon had left behind "an appalling legacy" on the issue.
Cole-Hamilton said: "These figures are stories of lives cut short and potential extinguished. They are stories of opportunities lost. They are stories of families and friends grieving.
"Every drug death is preventable, so I will never understand why the SNP, by its own admission, took its eye off the ball and chose to ignore the crisis as it unfolded. I find that impossible to accept.
"As Nicola Sturgeon departs Bute House, she leaves behind an appalling legacy that is this country’s drug deaths crisis. Radical change is needed and it is needed quickly."
Males accounted for 70 per cent of all suspected drug deaths in 2022, compared with 73 per cent from the previous year.
And the number of suspected drug misuse deaths in females fell by 31 to 325 in 2022.
The data also showed 66 per cent of suspected drug deaths involved people aged 35 and 54, with 55 suspected deaths in the under-25 category – 19 per cent fewer than 2021.
Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh city recorded the highest number of suspected drug deaths across police divisions, with 214, 118 and 113 respectively.
The Scottish Government has been attempting to increase access to rehabilitation and support for problematic drug use, including opening two family rehab centres.
Drug policy minister Angela Constance said: "I want to extend my deepest sympathy to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through drugs.
"This latest quarterly report on the number of suspected drug deaths indicates a rise in the final three months of 2022 but suggests that over the course of the year there was a 16 per cent decrease in the number of deaths compared with 2021.
“While I give a cautious welcome to this report, I am aware that it uses management information provided by Police Scotland and is based on attending officers’ observations and initial inquiries at the scene of death.
“The numbers we are seeing are still far too high and we remain focused on our ongoing efforts to get more people into the form of treatment which works best for them.”
She said efforts are ongoing to assess what more needs to be done to crackdown on Scotland’s drug deaths, with an additional £250 million invested to tackle the “public health emergency”.
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