Drug misuse deaths down in Scotland but cocaine fatalities at record high

Drug misuse accounted for 1,017 deaths in Scotland in 2024, according to the latest data.

The figure, from the National Records of Scotland (NRS), represents a decrease of 13% (155 deaths) compared with the previous year, and is the lowest total of drug misuse deaths registered since 2017.

The most common drugs implicated were opiates and opioids, present in 80% of deaths, followed by benzodiazepines (56%) and cocaine (47%).

While deaths involving the first two categories decreased in 2024, cocaine-implicated deaths remained at their highest level on record, with 479 deaths for the second consecutive year.

More than nine out of 10 (91%) of drug misuse deaths were classified as accidental poisonings, with 6% classed as intentional self-poisonings.

After adjusting for age, there were 19.1 drug misuse deaths per 100,000 people in Scotland last year. This was 3.6 times as high as compared to 2000.

Phillipa Haxton, head of vital events statistics at NRS, said: ‘These statistics show a decrease in drug misuse deaths over the last year and represent the lowest number of deaths in the last seven years.

‘The longer-term trend shows that drug misuse deaths are still much more common than they were two decades ago.’

She added: ‘The statistics also provide information about the people who died of a drug misuse death. The figures show us that males continue to be more than twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as females.’

The figures also show that drug misuse deaths are around 12 times as high in the most deprived communities.

Glasgow City, Dundee City and Inverclyde council areas had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths in the period 2020-2024.