Most of us associate Scotland with whiskey, but as this BBC report indicates, the nation of 5.3 million is also known for an unusually high number of drug-related fatalities.
Scottish drug deaths fall but remain worst in Europe
It must be disconcerting for the Scottish government to discover that the nation remains at number one for the seventh year in a row– even on the heels of a 13% reduction in deaths from the year before.
Worse yet, experts predict an increase in OD fatalities in 2025, partly due to the introduction of nitazenes into the street supply. Unlike the US, where drug users tend to be younger, most Scottish drug deaths occur among 35 to 54 year olds.
It’s not a record to be proud of. But the question emerges: why Scotland? Why is that nation’s fatality rate 3.5 times higher than its neighbors, England and Wales?
According to the BBC, the causes are the expected ones: Loss of jobs, leading to chronic unemployment; a sense of alienation from the larger society; and not surprisingly, an influx of Afghan heroin that began in the 1980’s.
A simple formula, but in practice, that’s about all it takes. As time passed, more women have become involved. It’s no longer just the men.
The solutions that have been considered, and hotly debated, are the same ones that have come up in North America and continental Europe. Safe Use Centers, where the most chronic among the addict population may inject drugs under medical supervision, thus reducing the risk of unintended overdose. Decriminalization of “hard” drug use, in order to take drug users out of the jails and prisons and (hopefully) into treatment.
As for treatment, the best estimate I could find was that 40% of Scotland’s chronic drug users were now enrolled in programs, as opposed to 60% in England. That’s probably due to reduced services in the wake of budget cuts the Scottish government made in response to economic problems.
I imagine that treatment in Scotland is primarily medication-assisted, since methadone is more accessible in the UK than in the US.
For a society with plenty of other problems, it’s a lot to deal with. And no question, drinking does continue to be a major problem, too — in 2023, for instance, alcohol-related deaths in Scotland hit a 15-year high.
