It seems from 2018 figures in the table below ...
... that the further north you travel in Europe, the worse the drug problem.
Specifically the number of deaths per capita. One look at the table shows a string of Northern latitude countries topping the graph. From Slovenia, Lithuania, Denmark right through to Estonia, the countries are all North European. But there, right at the top sits Scotland, who are far and away the worst country in Europe for drug related deaths.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, on this measure, Scotland has a higher drug death rate than the one reported for the US, which has previously always been thought to be the highest drug death rate in the world. The US figure was 217 per million of the population, which is now marginally lower than Scotland's rate (218).
Why this bias towards Northern countries (excluding the USA which is in some respects is its own issue) isn't entirely clear, there could be a number of factors:
As usual the local politicians have different takes on why this situation is so bad in Scotland. Labour said the SNP run devolved Scottish government has cut funding for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships by 6.3% since 2014/2015. The SNP on the other hand thinks they should be able to decriminalise drug taking (The Portugal model), and set up 'drug fix rooms', where junkies can get clean needles to inject their own drugs ... and so blame the Westminster government for not allowing these changes.
Whatever the causes, its yet another issue that an independent Scotland would have to tackle ... however it has to be pointed out that as the SNP has had sole control over Scotland's health and justice systems for over 12 years now, all while the drug crisis has worsened, it suggests that they cant evade primary responsibility, and that it has failed to tackle the issue, and indeed may be part of the problem.
In any case, preliminary figures for 2019 (I can't find the official figures, even though they should have been released by now), suggest that the trend has continued and I assume in to 2020, with another couple of record years for drugs deaths likely in Scotland.
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| Drug Deaths Scotland Now The Highest Reported In World |
... that the further north you travel in Europe, the worse the drug problem.
Specifically the number of deaths per capita. One look at the table shows a string of Northern latitude countries topping the graph. From Slovenia, Lithuania, Denmark right through to Estonia, the countries are all North European. But there, right at the top sits Scotland, who are far and away the worst country in Europe for drug related deaths.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, on this measure, Scotland has a higher drug death rate than the one reported for the US, which has previously always been thought to be the highest drug death rate in the world. The US figure was 217 per million of the population, which is now marginally lower than Scotland's rate (218).
Why this bias towards Northern countries (excluding the USA which is in some respects is its own issue) isn't entirely clear, there could be a number of factors:
- It could be the types of drug being consumed .... In Scotland the vast majority of drug-related deaths - 1,021 - involved the use of heroin. But other drugs such as diazepam and etizolam were also the drug causing the deaths. Southern countries may have a bias towards less hazardous drugs.
- It may be that as the population ages generally, the same is true for the drug using community, and this combined with a new trend toward mixing opiates such as heroin and methadone with benzodiazepines (and new 'street pills' containing etizolam - stronger than prescription benzos), could be increasing the death rates.
- It may even simply be that the harder weather in the North, means that those sleeping rough and taking drugs, are more susceptible to secondary illnesses brought on by the cold or wet, especially as street drugs appear to be getting stronger.
As usual the local politicians have different takes on why this situation is so bad in Scotland. Labour said the SNP run devolved Scottish government has cut funding for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships by 6.3% since 2014/2015. The SNP on the other hand thinks they should be able to decriminalise drug taking (The Portugal model), and set up 'drug fix rooms', where junkies can get clean needles to inject their own drugs ... and so blame the Westminster government for not allowing these changes.
Whatever the causes, its yet another issue that an independent Scotland would have to tackle ... however it has to be pointed out that as the SNP has had sole control over Scotland's health and justice systems for over 12 years now, all while the drug crisis has worsened, it suggests that they cant evade primary responsibility, and that it has failed to tackle the issue, and indeed may be part of the problem.
In any case, preliminary figures for 2019 (I can't find the official figures, even though they should have been released by now), suggest that the trend has continued and I assume in to 2020, with another couple of record years for drugs deaths likely in Scotland.
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