It comes as new figures from National Records of Scotland show there were 1,133 drug use deaths in 2025, an increase of 11 per cent compared with the previous year.

Cocaine was implicated in over half of all drug use deaths in 2025 (52 per cent, or 589 deaths), an increase of 23 per cent compared with 2024. Nitazenes, a group of highly potent synthetic opioids , were implicated in more than one in five drug use deaths (22 per cent, 247 deaths).

Speaking during a visit to In Cahootz, an initiative in Glasgow which supports people affected by substance use through creative activities and building community connections, drugs minister Maree Todd said: “My heartfelt condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one to drug use. Each and every death is a tragedy, and even more so because every life lost to drug harms is preventable. 

“Against an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply, this rise is deeply concerning and unacceptable. The increase in deaths involving cocaine, and the continued threat from dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes, must drive more coordinated action across the country.

“We have taken important steps forward, including funding more than 1,100 residential rehabilitation placements last year and widening access to treatment and life-saving naloxone. However, despite these policy interventions, and the actions of our valued frontline workers, it is clear we need to do much more to reduce this tragic loss of life.”

Professor in substance use at the University of Stirling, Catriona Matheson, said: “It is deeply concerning that drug-related deaths have increased again in 2025, following the encouraging reduction seen in 2024.”

She added: “We are also still seeing high levels of cocaine use alongside other substances, fuelled by the availability of low-cost cocaine through international drug markets. While the drivers of supply are often beyond Scotland’s control, their impact is being felt in communities across the country.

“In recent years, significant efforts have been made to reduce drug-related harm, including improvements to treatment services, wider distribution of naloxone and the expansion of overdose response initiatives. We also know that engagement with treatment services can significantly reduce the risk of overdose and death so support to get people into treatment should be escalated.”