One of Scotland’s leading drugs charities has slammed a lack of leadership in tackling the country’s grim drug-related death rate. 

The criticism of the government from the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) comes ahead of tomorrow’s publication of the annual fatality figures.

The group also warned that as well as an “inadequate response to the ongoing public health emergency,” the country was not prepared for “the emerging threat of a drug supply containing new synthetic opioids.” 

Kirsten Horsburgh, the CEO of the charity said Scotland was “now well beyond the need for urgent action.” 

READ MORE: Scottish Government proposes decriminalisation of all drugs

Last year’s report showed that 1,330 people lost their lives to drug misuse in Scotland in 2021. 

That number was 1% lower than 2020 and marked the first year since 2013 in which the number had dropped. 

However, it is still the second-highest annual total on record, and Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe.

The SDF said tomorrow’s figures would “confirm that drug-related deaths rates in Scotland remain the highest in the UK and Europe.”

In their statement, the SDF called for “the urgent implementation of the full range of evidence-based practice and policy now.”

This includes safe consumption rooms, a wider rollout of the naloxone programme and decriminalisation of the possession of drugs for “all people, for all drugs in all circumstances.”

A crackdown on the drug supply by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the main global grower of opium, has created a gap in the market which is filled by synthetic opioids, including laboratory-created substances such as fentanyl.

They can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. 

The SDF called for the establishment of drug checking services to allow people involved in drug use to know what was in their drugs.  They also said the country needed to do more to get “people who could benefit from treatment into treatment.”

READ MORE: Drug deaths spike as synthetic opioids detected in Scotland

The charity said Scotland needed “a step change in approach to address what has been clearly lacking and continues to hinder progress – Scotland needs leadership, co-ordinated action and a driving will to change.” 

Ms Horsburgh said: “We are now well beyond the need for urgent action.  The emergency demands action now and by all means possible. There can be no further delays.

“Everyone seems to know that Scotland has an astonishing rate of drug-related deaths and that was before we saw this emerging trend of new synthetic opioids within the heroin supply.  “Alarm bells should be ringing all over Government and all through the treatment and support services because we are not prepared.

“In truth, we all know exactly what the evidence tells us we should be doing. The question is do we have the collective will to implement the necessary change.”

Asked about Scotland’s drug death rate being more than triple that in England and Wales, the then first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, admitted in a party leaders’ debate ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election that the SNP administration had taken their “eye off the ball on drug deaths.” 

Last month, the Scottish Government called on the UK Government to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use.  Drugs policy is currently reserved to Westminster.