News
DDN ONLINE All the news and views www . drinkanddrugsnews . com
Scottish drug deaths up for 2022 final quarter
Scotland saw 295 suspected drug deaths recorded between October and December last year , according to the latest Police Scotland management information . The number is more than 25 per cent up on the previous quarter and the highest recorded in a single quarter since April to June 2021 .
Overall , however , there were 1,092 suspected drug deaths recorded in the whole of 2022 , which was 16 per cent down on the previous year . Men accounted for 70 per cent of the deaths , with deaths among women down by 9 per cent compared to 2021 . As in previous years , two thirds of the deaths were in the 35-54 age group , with the Greater Glasgow police division recording the highest number of suspected deaths at 215 .
The quarterly police figures are based on the reports of attending officers and are ‘ not subject to the same level of validation and quality assurance ’ as the annual official reports from National Records of Scotland , which are drawn from death certificates and pathologist reports .
In 2021 the country recorded its first fall in drug deaths in almost a decade , although it was by just one per cent . Scotland ’ s rate of drug-related deaths is
WORLDWIDE PRODUCTION of cocaine has ‘ jumped dramatically ’ in the last two years following an initial slowdown as a result of the COVID pandemic , according to UNODC .
Coca cultivation increased by 35 per cent between 2020 and 2021 , says the agency ’ s Global report on cocaine 2023 . The increase is the result of an expansion in coca bush three and half times greater than for the UK as a whole , and higher than anywhere in Europe .
In its final report , the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce stated that the issue had not been given the priority it deserves ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / timefor-a-complete-culture-changesays-drug-deaths-taskforces-finalreport ).
‘ Every drug death is preventable , so I will never understand why the SNP , by its own admission , took its eye off the ball and chose to ignore the crisis as it unfolded ,’ said leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Alex Cole-Hamilton .
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland : October to December 2022 at www . gov . scot
THE SCOTTISH DRUGS FORUM ( SDF ) has announced that Kirsten Horsburgh will be its
cultivation combined with improvements in the process of converting coca into cocaine hydrochloride , the document states , matched by a ‘ swelling ’ of demand . The rise in coca cultivation is the sharpest since 2016 , it adds .
While the cocaine market remains concentrated in the Americas and some parts of Europe , there is ‘ strong potential ’ for it to expand in Asia
‘ Every drug death is preventable ...’
ALEX COLE-HAMILTON
new CEO from June , following the retirement of Dave Liddell . ‘ I am delighted that Kirsten has been appointed as the next CEO ,’ said Liddell . ‘ Kirsten has worked with me for 11 years and since she started has shown excellent leadership qualities , initially in driving forward the implementation of the naloxone programme and latterly as director of operations .’
See next month ’ s DDN for an interview with outgoing SDF CEO Dave Liddell
Dramatic increase in cocaine production
and Africa . The use of violence by criminal networks in Europe is also a ‘ growing concern ’ the report states , with a spike in serious incidents related to drug markets in recent years . These include ‘ public shootings , bombings , kidnappings and torture ’, and are partly the result of European cocaine markets attracting new trafficking organisations . Document at unodc . org
Local News
VALUABLE INSIGHT A new young people ’ s service in Enfield is being launched by Humankind . Insight Enfield : Sort it ! will also offer support to parents and families . ‘ We look forward to working with our local partners to provide free , flexible and judgement-free support ,’ said Humankind ’ s director of operations for London Lyndsey Morris . insightyoungpeople . org . uk
PRIORITY PROVISION WDP and The Nelson Trust are opening the UK ’ s only specialist women-only inpatient detox centre in Gloucestershire later this year . ‘ We are delighted to be collaborating with The Nelson Trust to find a solution and address this worrying gap in women ’ s treatment provision in the UK ,’ said WDP CEO Anna Whitton . To get involved contact anna . whitton @ wdp . org . uk .
DIGITAL BOOST The Calico Group ’ s ARC community hub in Manchester – which offers recovery-based services and support to access employment and volunteering for people who have left prison – has received £ 5,000 funding from Equans to buy laptops for its digital skills courses . ‘ We ’ re delighted at the funding support ,’ said area operations manager at Delphi , Claire Illingworth . dailyrecord . co . uk sdf . org . uk
WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM APRIL 2023 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 5