Campaigners will gather outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh today as the annual figures on the number of drugs deaths in Scotland are published. The Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) charity will stage the protest as part of their on-going campaign for greater access to rehabilitation services for those struggling with addiction.
The number of people dying from drugs in Scotland has rocketed over the last 15 years with the country having the highest proportion of such fatalities in western Europe as a result. Nicola Sturgeon has promised action and her government appointed a dedicated minister to oversee the response.
Scottish Labour today warned that drug deaths are continuing to "devastate" families ahead of the new NRS report on drug-related deaths in 2021.
Earlier this week Public Health Scotland published a new report revealing that more than one in three people who died from a drug-related death in 2018 was a parent or guardian to a child. This resulted in 566 children losing a parent or guardian to drugs.
Claire Baker, Scottish Labour spokeswoman for drugs policy, said: "This heartbreaking report is an urgent reminder of the need to tackle Scotland’s drug death crisis and save lives.
"These tragic deaths are devastating families, with hundreds of children having lost a parent and many more people having lost a loved one. Every single drug-related death is preventable, and each one is a tragedy.
"The Scottish Government need to respond to the recommendations of the Scottish Drug Death Taskforce and deliver the meaningful change we desperately need, including investing in services and finally delivering the MAT standards."
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “Scotland’s drugs-death epidemic is a national tragedy which ought to shame the SNP government. The number of fatalities has risen year on year on Nicola Sturgeon’s watch to last year’s appalling record high of 1,339.
"These figures mean Scotland has not just the worst death rate per head of population in Europe – but the worst by such an enormous margin that it’s hard to get your head around."
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