WIREDGOV

Sets out the progress made between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 by national government, local government and third sector partners towards reducing drug deaths and improving the lives of those impacted by drugs in Scotland.

Introduction

Overview

On 20th January 2021, the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a statement to Parliament which set out a National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives through a range of improvements to treatment, recovery and other support services.

This fourth annual report sets out the progress made from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 against the National Mission Plan. A separate analytical report monitoring the progress of the National Mission over the same timeframe will be published early in 2026 once all data points are available.

The National Mission annual report is structured to relate to the six outcomes and six cross-cutting priorities in the National Mission Plan, as well as, finance, reporting, monitoring and evaluation. Outcomes and cross-cutting priorities chapters have the following format: an overview provides context, including data, to understand the scope and purpose of the outcome.

The loss of lives as a result of drugs in Scotland is devastating, and the latest statistics are a very harsh reminder of challenges we continue to face.

From the National Records Scotland report on drug-related deaths in Scotland, in 2024, there were 1,017 drug misuse deaths registered in Scotland. This was a decrease of 13% (155 deaths) compared with 2023. Drug deaths are still much more common than they were in 2000. After adjusting for age, there were 19.1 drug misuse deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. This is 3.6 times as high as when the series began in 2000.

Figure 1: Drug misuse deaths decreased in 2024

Source: National Records of Scotland

In 2023 (the most recent data available for the UK as a whole), the rate of drug poisoning deaths in Scotland1 was around two to three times the rate of other UKcountries. This is similar to the longer term trend, with Scotland having a higher drug death rate than other parts of the UK for the last decade.

While we are encouraged by the drop in drug deaths in 2024, suspected drug deaths remain at a high level. Police Scotland management information provides an indication of recent trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland. There were 607 suspected drug deaths during the first six months of 2025. This was 3% (18) more than during the same period of 2024.

We are increasingly concerned about the dynamic changes in the drug supply and rise in potent synthetic opioids such as nitazenes which pose a substantial risk of overdose, drug-related hospitalisation and drug-related death. Our Rapid Action Drug Alert and Response (RADAR) first issued a warning for nitazenes in March 2023, and since then, detections of nitazenes has continued to rise and further alerts have been issued for nitazenes, bromazolam and xylazine.

The Scottish Government recognises the ongoing threat posed by synthetic opioids and is providing an emergency response. In 2024-25, we continued working with PHS and the National Drug Death Incident Management Team (NDDIMT), which has now issued guidance on the management of clusters of drug related harms. We have also been working with partners to understand the efficacy of nitazene test strips to inform national guidance on their use. We continue to develop our surveillance landscape and to progress drug checking facilities.

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