‘There has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs’, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned in its annual assessment of serious and organised crime.
There has been a ‘significant escalation in the criminal use of nitazenes’ as a cheap way of increasing the strength of drugs – particularly heroin – and users often ‘simply do not know what they are consuming’, the report states. More than 280 deaths have been linked to nitazenes since June last year.
In the majority of cases ‘these substances were consumed unintentionally alongside other drugs such as heroin and/or benzodiazepines, with very small quantities capable of leading to overdose and death,’ the document says.
Alongside the growing availability of synthetic opioids, global production of cocaine is also up, with UNODC highlighting a 35 per cent increase between 2020 and 2021 in last year’s Global report on cocaine. Not only has the number of drug-related deaths in the UK tripled in the last 30 years, illegal drugs are also a ‘key driver of serious and organised crime that blights communities across the UK’, the NCA document says.
‘While overall crime figures have fallen over the last decade, the scale and harm of serious and organised crime has increased,’ said NCA director general Graeme Biggar. ‘As we outline in our latest assessment, it is clear that serious and organised crime still causes more harm, to more people, more often, than any other national security threat.’
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has announced that local alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs) experiencing high demand for their services will be able to access extra funding from the £2 million Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation Additional Placement Fund (APF). The fund will be able to support more than 100 residential places, the government states.
‘Those working in ADPs have helped design this approach, which complements a range of other residential rehabilitation projects supported by the Scottish Government,’ said drugs minister Christina McKelvie. ‘This demand-led fund will allow ADPs that need the greatest number of placements to draw down on additional funding for these when they need it – helping ensure funding is targeted at those areas which face the biggest challenges in meeting demand and where help is needed the most.’
‘We welcome this extra funding from the Scottish Government, which will give hard-pressed councils the option of referring people with drug and alcohol issues to residential rehab services like ours,’ said chief executive of the Abbeycare Group, Paul Bowley. ‘For some people, residential rehabs are the best option and can end up saving their life. They can play a key role in reducing the number of people dying due to drugs and alcohol, working alongside other specialist crisis and stabilisation services.’
National strategic assessment of serious and organised crime available here