Scotland recorded the highest rate in Europe
Drugs deaths in Scotland have reached a record high, with more people dying due to substance abuse in 2020.
A total of 1,339 deaths last year were attributed to drugs, up from 1,264, new statistics have revealed.
This was down slightly on the increase between 2018 and 2019 of 6%.
The annual statistics from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the rate of deaths in Scotland is some 3½ times that of the UK as a whole.
It is also higher than any other European country.
As figures rise again across the country, the number of drug-related deaths per million people in Dundee fell compared to 2020.
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Dundee’s SNP administration has brought forward proposals to reconvene the independent Dundee Drugs Commission, chaired by Robert Peat and has announced its intention to provide additional funding to tackle the drugs scourge.
The Commission met during 2018/19 and delivered its robust action plan and recommendations to the Dundee Partnership in 2019.
The Policy & Resources Committee heard that there has been some significant progress made in taking forward actions within the plan, in spite of covid-19.