Anyone using street drugs in Scotland should assume they are contaminated with other substances, Public Health Scotland (PHS) has warned. The agency has issued two new alerts – about medetomidine and benzodiazepines – in response to ‘increased harms and changes’ in the country’s drug supply.
Medetomidine is a relatively new sedative most commonly detected in drugs sold as heroin or benzodiazepines and therefore ‘likely to be consumed unknowingly’, while the benzodiazepines alert highlights ‘ongoing changes’ in Scotland’s street benzo market. Not only are new benzos appearing, says PHS, but previously detected drugs such as the highly potent clonazolam are re-emerging. New tablet types are also being found on sale, including jelly capsules.
According to PHS’s most recent Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) report, clonazolam is now Scotland’s most common street benzo. The RADAR report stated that the drug supply across the whole Scotland continues to be ‘highly toxic and unpredictable’.
Last year PHS warned that highly potent nitazenes were being detected in Scotland’s drug supply and that drug harms were on the increase across the country, while a report from King’s College London found that the most potent illicit benzo tablets on sale were more than 50 times stronger than the weakest.
‘During 2025, we saw a pattern of sudden and sharp increases in drug-related harms and an unstable, rapidly evolving drug supply in Scotland,’ said PHS consultant in public health medicine Tara Shivaji. ‘We advise anyone who is using street drugs, or supporting someone else who is, to assume that they are contaminated with other drugs. Having someone who can help in an emergency is an important harm reduction measure, but there’s no safe way to take these substances.’
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) alert: New xylazine-type drug – medetomidine available here
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) alert: New benzodiazepines in Scotland available here