Maree Todd has been appointed as the Scottish Government’s minister for drugs and alcohol policy, following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year. Todd is the MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross.
The Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) said the appointment was to a ‘crucial role’ at a pivotal time. ‘We look forward to working with the minister to improve the lives of people affected by substance use across Scotland,’ it stated. ‘We are committed to supporting evidence-informed policy and ensuring that people with lived and living experience are central to shaping services and strategy.’
The latest provisional figures from Police Scotland show there were 308 suspected drug deaths between January and March this year – a 33 per cent increase on the previous quarter, but just under 5 per cent fewer than the same period last year. More than 60 per cent of the suspected drug deaths were of people aged between 35 and 54, with men accounting for almost 80 per cent of the total.
The quarterly figures are compiled from reports of police officers attending scenes of death, and are different from the accredited official statistics published annually by National Records of Scotland. The numbers can ‘fluctuate from quarter to quarter’ the Scottish Government stated, adding that care should be taken not to interpret changes between quarters as indicative of long-term trends. ‘Suspected drug deaths in Scotland remain at a high level,’ it stated.
The latest figures from Public Health Scotland showed that the number of drug-related hospital stays was up by 15 per cent in 2023-24, with the agency issuing a warning earlier this year about an increase in overdoses characterised by ‘sudden and rapid collapse’ and linked to a ‘nitazene-type opioid’ identified in heroin samples.
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025 available here