23 September 2026
Bosses at a leading drug charity are calling for faster, more consistent action to halt drug-related deaths, after new figures revealed they rose by 11% last year, reversing the previous year's decline.
Louise Stewart, director for Scotland at WithYou, which runs 13 drug and alcohol services across Scotland, said each of the 1,133 deaths recorded represented a tragedy.
She added that the rise should be a wake-up call rather than a surprise, with poverty, trauma and an increasingly unpredictable drug supply all driving deaths.
“Last year's decline in drug-related deaths gave us hope, but this shows just how easily that can be lost if we can't keep up with an ever-changing drug supply, and if we don't do more to address the demand and why people turn to drugs in the first place," said Louise, who is director for Scotland at WithYou.
She added that the drug supply itself was becoming harder to predict.
“The majority of drug deaths in Scotland now involve more than one substance, and people often have no idea what they've actually taken. Nitazenes are part of that picture, and since China banned them, we're watching closely for a new type, known as orphines, which is already in circulation elsewhere in the UK."
Gareth Balmer, National Harm Reduction Lead at WithYou, said drugs alone don't explain why Scotland has been hit so hard by the crisis.
"Dangerous, unpredictable drug markets exist elsewhere too. What stands out here is how closely deaths follow poverty, poor health, trauma and exclusion," he said. "It's bereavement, childhood trauma, homelessness, violence, poor mental health, and a sense that life was never going to get better."
For Michelle Dickson, the statistics reflect personal loss as well as professional.
She has lost close friends and family members to drugs over the years, and used heroin herself for 12 years before turning her life around.
Michelle now works as a recovery worker at WithYou in Dumfries, having joined as a trainee in 2020. She leads the service's harm reduction work and runs a weekly women's recovery group, supporting people who were once in her own shoes.
"To watch somebody walk in with their eyes on the ground, too scared to make eye contact, and then see their confidence grow, that's incredible to see," she said.
She said stigma often stops people asking for help before a crisis point, particularly in a smaller community.
In a rural area like Dumfries and Galloway, she said, every death is felt more widely than a national statistic can capture. She believes recovery takes patience..
"It doesn't matter if somebody's been in a service a hundred times. That hundred-and-first time might be the time they make that change."
Michelle’s message for anyone worried about their own drug or alcohol use, or a loved one's, is simple. "Never give up. No matter how bad you think you are, or how low you've been, you can always come back from it."
Stewart said there was also a financial case for acting sooner.
"There's a hard-headed financial case here too, not just a moral one. Scotland spends up to £5.7 billion a year on drug-related harm. Acting earlier, before someone reaches crisis, would save lives and money. What we need now is sustained, safe and effective delivery."
If you're worried about your own drug or alcohol use, or someone else's, WithYou offers free and confidential support with no judgement. Visit www.wearewithyou.org.uk/scotland.