The latest statistics show that 1,197 people across Scotland are suspected to have lost their lives to drugs last year, a rise of 105 from 2022.
In the Lothian and Scottish Borders police region, a total of seventy-two people are suspected to have died as a result of drugs in 2023, including twenty-two deaths in the final quarter of the year between October and December.
These figures are appalling and heartbreaking. My thoughts are with everyone in the region who is grieving the loss of a loved one from drugs.
These figures highlight that SNP ministers have taken their eye off the ball once again on tackling Scotland’s drug death crisis, which is the worst in Europe, with devastating consequences.
Humza Yousaf and his SNP colleagues must finally support the Right to Recovery Bill. It is backed by frontline experts and would enshrine in law the right to treatment for all those suffering with addiction in the Scottish Borders.
