MINISTERS MUST 'HANG HEADS IN SHAME' AS DRUG DEATH FIGURES ROCKET

Suspected victim numbers have risen by a third in first quarter of the year

- By Richard Elias

CRITICS have said that the SNP should “hang its head in shame” after new figures revealed that suspected drug deaths in Scotland have risen by a third in the first three months of this year.

The damning comment comes despite the Scottish Government’s controversial launch of the UK’s first unit allowing addicts to inject illegal substances “safely”.

Known as The Thistle, its opening has led to hundreds of complaints from locals in Glasgow's East End, where it is located, who say that they are now living in a "war zone".

Yesterday, latest figures showed that there have been 308 suspected drug-related deaths over the period January to March.

This total is up by 33% on the last three months of 2024.

Scotland already has the highest drug death rate in both the UK and Western Europe.

Leading demands for action to tackle the epidemic were the Scottish Tories.

The party's spokesperson for drugs, Annie Wells, hit out and accused the Scottish Government of being "completely detached from the reality of this national crisis which has spiralled to record levels on their watch".

"These devastating figures should be a source of shame for deluded SNP ministers, whose strategy to tackle drug deaths is clearly failing.

"They are completely detached from the reality of this national crisis which has spiralled to record levels on their watch.

"Nationalist politicians have been at pains to trumpet the opening of The Thistle in Glasgow as a gamechanging solution, yet the number of Scots suspected to have tragically lost their lives to drugs has risen sharply since it opened." She added: "It is clear that this facility is feeding addiction, rather than helping to treat addiction.

"The public will be appalled that Neil Gray thinks more consumption rooms should get the green light while this flagship one is failing people so badly.