Scotland can no longer bury its head in the sand as new figures showed the devastating extent of the country’s losing battle against drugs.

The revelation – that drug-related deaths in the country are the highest ever on record, almost three times that of the UK as a whole, and higher than any reported within the EU – is too grim to ignore. But how did we get here, and what happens now?

What do the figures show?

Nearly 1,200 people lost their lives because of narcotics last year.

The number of drug-related deaths in Scotland, which is estimated to have about 60,000 problem drug users, soared to 1,187 last year. That’s the highest since records began in 1996 and a 27% increase on the previous year.

Dundee, which overtook Glasgow as having the worst death rate in Scotland in 2017, saw the steepest rise in drug deaths. The city, which is home to around 148,000 people, had 66 drug-related deaths last year.

Why now?

Experts have previously said Scotland is seeing the effects of the “Trainspotting generation”.

During the 1980s and 90s, the number of problem drug users in Scotland soared. These people are now an ageing population of predominately male drug addicts who have been using heroin for decades.

But, more recently, a rise in street drugs being sold as valium has also been blamed for the disturbing rise in deaths.

While most deaths are of people taking more than one substance, so-called “street blues” are being mixed with opiates, such as heroin and methadone, creating a lethal drug cocktail.

Benzodiazepines, which act as a sedative by slowing down body function, are often fatal when mixed with alcohol and other drugs. Last year they were linked to 265 deaths in Glasgow alone.

Who - or what - is to blame?

While the surge in street valium is worrying, the blame lies much deeper. Drug addiction, poverty and homelessness are intrinsically linked, with drug use 17 times higher in Scotland’s poorest areas compared to the wealthiest.

Asked how to tackle the drug misuse problem, Edinburgh GP Dr John Budd answered: “Eradicate childhood poverty.”

The GP said that poverty was often the source of issues with alcohol, drugs and mental health, telling MPs:”If you look at drug or alcohol-related deaths, those are very focused on people coming from deprived backgrounds.”

Limited treatment options, stigma around addiction and the criminalisation of drug use have also all been blamed for failing to tackle the problem.

What about the row over ‘fix rooms’?

Consumption rooms are at the heart of an increasingly bitter political row around drugs.

Plans for a ‘fix room’, where addicts in Glasgow would be able to inject illegal drugs under medical supervision, were thwarted by the Home Office last year.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe says existing UK-wide legislation makes it impossible for police officers to turn a blind eye to people taking illegal drugs.

MP Alison Thewliss, who tried to get a bill through Westminster last year, said consumption rooms are not a magic bullet but the new figures should act as a clarion call to the UK Government that lives are being needlessly lost.

Is it time to decriminalise?

Changing the law to decriminalise drug use appears to have mounting support. Drugs would not become legal but people would not be prosecuted for possession for personal use.

Among those backing reform is Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, who recently urged MPs to end the “carousel of hopelessness”.

He said: “When people don’t come back through the door it’s probably because the person is dead, it’s not because there has been a successful criminal justice intervention.”