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Daily Record
30-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Super-strength drugs fuelling new wave of Scottish overdose deaths
Nitazenes - up to 500 times stronger than heroin - now found all over Scotland, contaminating all kinds of drugs, as death rate soars Health chiefs are calling for the urgent creation of drug checking services as a wave of new drugs wreak havoc on Scotland's streets. Public Health Scotland believes our shameful drug death rate, which had improved in recent years, could be set to explode again as synthetic and deadly nitazenes contaminate the market. The opiates can be 500 times as strong as heroin and are being seen in more and more deaths. But experts believe the true toll of harm is being drastically underestimated because of the rapid way the new drugs leave the bodies of those who have died of overdoses. Dr Tara Shivaji, authored the Consultant in Public Health Medicine, authored the latest Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report, which detailed a devastating 15% rise in drug deaths from March to May this year. The data shows a 'rapidly evolving, toxic and unpredictable drug supply', with more overdose deaths and a big shift towards nitazenes - which are now contaminating the supply of many different drugs. Dr Shivaji said Scotland needs to wake up to the 'global challenge' that super strength synthetic drugs pose and to out in place checking stations. She said: 'Where drugs are checked, most drugs will contain more than what they're sold to be. It's it's really difficult for people to know what, what's in the substances that they're taking. 'It's therefore difficult for services to then support them. 'As it stands, when we see increases in harm and we think there's something new being introduced into a local drug supply, we're just not able to confirm that. And so that means what we can do is really quite limited. 'The evidence from areas with drug checking is that people can get their substances checked and make a choice and take much more proactive, much more targeted harm reduction action. 'But it also makes a difference at the community level, where the availability of this intelligence changes the market and reduces the risks, and that's been demonstrated in Canada, and that's really part of why we are advocating for drug checking.' Dr Shivaji said she could not rule out a new record in overdose deaths happening, despite many thousands of deaths already in Scotland. Although nitazenes have been found in just six per cent of death in the first quarter of 2025, Dr Shivaji said this is likely to be a gross underestimate. She said: 'We aren't scientifically sure about the stability of nitazenes and our toxicology colleagues tell us that it's possible that if the body has lain for a while and blood samples are taken after a prolonged period, the nitazines might not be detected. 'The other concern they have is about the potency, as it doesn't take very much to cause an overdose, and therefore it can be more difficult to detect when you're looking for that in a in a sample. 'So we are likely to be presenting an underestimate of the impact.' Dr Shivaji said that in 2022, when nitazenes first appeared, they were localised - but they are now found all over Scotland and in all kinds of drugs. She said: 'We found it in heroin, we found it in street benzodiazepines and we're also finding it in fake pharma.' One major concern that has come to light is the finding of heroin in cocaine - meaning a massive risk of overdose for users who have not built any tolerance to opiates. And another new threat has emerged through the way the opiate antidote drug Naloxone is being dulled by the presence of nitazenes. Dr Shivaji said: 'Naloxone does work but we are hearing more and more of how it takes several shots to take effect, in some cases up to ten to get an overdose victim to come round.' The RADAR report gathers together results of hospital toxicology tests and the accounts of drug users to paint a picture of the changing drugs landscape in Scotland. The quarterly report is published more than two months after the reporting period ends - and the current situation means news drugs may already be rife by the time the first warnings are issued. The SNP has been accused of failing to address the drug death crisis as the latest report shows drug deaths rose by 15% between March and May this year. An earlier report showed that suspected drug deaths rose by a third in the first three months of this year. After drops in the last three years, many fear Scotland could be heading for even worse numbers than the 1,339 deaths of 2020. We are currently the worst overdose nation in Europe by miles - more than three times as bad as Ireland, in second place. Scotland's Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Maree Todd said: 'We are working hard to respond to the growing threat from polydrug use, including 'street benzos' and cocaine, and from highly dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes. 'These synthetic drugs can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin and can increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death. Because of their strength I would urge people to carry extra life-saving naloxone kits.'
Daily Record
25-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Health bosses issue warning after recent heroin use leads to serious harm and death in Dumfries and Galloway
Synthetic opioids and animal tranquilisers, as well other combinations of substances, have been found in the drug supply in Scotland. Health bosses have issued an alert after recent heroin use has led to serious harm and death in Dumfries and Galloway. Synthetic opioids and animal tranquilisers, as well other combinations of substances, have been found in the drug supply in Scotland – although have yet to be confirmed by testing locally. Officials say the current opioid supply can be described as unpredictable and high risk, with some people noting that the heroin has changes in texture, smell and colour once cooked. However, drugs which do not have these signs are still dangerous. Dumfries and Galloway consultant in public health, Chris Allan, said: 'People should be cautious of all drugs, as you can't be sure what's in it or its strength. 'In these situations, the overdose has been almost immediate – with reduced breathing and rapid deterioration – and in cases people have very sadly died. 'In collaboration with the Dumfries and Galloway Alcohol and Drug Partnership, we're advising people who use drugs to be extra vigilant, and to help reduce risks of harm my observing the following advice: 'Continue to engage with harm reduction services; 'Treat all substances with caution, as you can't be sure of what is in it or its strength; 'Start low and go slow until you know the substance's effects; 'Seek medical help if you or someone else feels unwell; 'Do not buy new types of drugs or new batches, and don't buy from new sources; 'Avoiding mixing drugs (including medicines); 'Try not to use drugs alone, or let friends use drugs alone; 'Watch out for overdose signs like difficulty breathing, blue colouring to lips or fingertips, unresponsiveness and limp limbs. 'Ensuring ready access to Naloxone kits which can help to treat an overdose could be important, and due to the potency of synthetic opioids like nitazenes, which might be present, you may need to administer multiple doses of Naloxone every two to three minutes.' 'Naloxone should only be used if the person is overdosing and unresponsive. Even if you're not sure if an opioid is present, Naloxone can be administered and will not cause harm.' Scotland's Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response system (RADAR). For more information on drug and alcohol services in Dumfries and Galloway and where you can get naloxone visit the Dumfries and Galloway Alcohol and Drug Partnership website.
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland up by 17 per cent
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland rose by almost a fifth between December and February – with Health Secretary Neil Gray warning of the dangers of an 'increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply'. His comments came as new figures showed there were 251 suspected drugs deaths between December 2 2024 and February 23 this year – an average of 21 per week. The figures cover the period when the UK's first safer drugs consumption room opened in Glasgow in January of this year. However the data, published by Public Health Scotland, showed that the number of suspected drug deaths over the December to February period was 17% higher than the previous three months, when there were 215 fatalities. But it also pointed out that such deaths were 17% lower than the three months commencing December 2023, when there were 304 suspected drugs deaths, and 12% down on the three months from December 2022, when the total was 285. READ MORE: Street value of £190k in drugs seized as police swoop on multiple West Lothian homes Football hooligan and haulage boss plotted to smuggle £1.5m of cannabis What can Edinburgh learn from Glasgow's drug consumption room pilot? The figures also showed a decrease in drug related attendances at hospital emergency departments, with 977 of these recorded over December 2024 to February 2025. This was 9% down on the previous three months, and 14% lower than the three months commencing December 2023. However, the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (Radar) report from Public Health Scotland noted that 'drug-related harms remained high during the most recent quarter', adding that there was a 'notable rise in suspected drug deaths compared to the previous quarter'. It added: 'Intelligence indicates Scotland's drugs markets are likely to be contaminated. Contamination is likely to involve toxic synthetic substances which increase the risk of overdose and death.' Mr Gray said the Scottish Government was also 'working hard' to respond to the 'growing threat' from polydrug use – where users take more than one substance. The Health Secretary said: 'While this publication records a quarter-on-quarter rise in suspected drug deaths, it also notes the year-on-year fall. 'We continue to monitor the situation and are working hard to respond to the growing threat from polydrug use, including 'street benzos' and cocaine, and from highly dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply.' Mr Gray warned: 'Such synthetics increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death and are being found in a range of substances.' He advised that 'because of their strength' people should 'carry extra life-saving naloxone kits' – which can be used to reverse an overdose. Stressing that every drugs death is a 'tragedy', the Health Secretary said ministers were 'determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths'. He stated: 'We want every person experiencing harm from drug use to be able access the support they need and through our five-year £250 million National Mission on drugs we're taking a wide range of actions. 'These include working towards the opening of drug-checking facilities which would enable us to respond faster to emerging drug trends, opening the UK's first safer drug consumption facility pilot, and widening access to residential rehab, treatment and life-saving naloxone.' But Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the latest figures showed that 'there is no room for complacency when it comes to Scotland's drugs death crisis'. She added: 'Scottish Labour welcomes the safe consumption room pilot, but this is not a substitute for a co-ordinated effort to stop the supply of drugs by criminal gangs who have no thought for the tragedies they unleash. 'The SNP government must work with Police Scotland, local authorities and health boards to ensure that those making money out of this misery are held to account while their victims have the best possible chance of recovery.'
