Cole-Hamilton: If this is the SNP’s best on drugs deaths, what hope is there?

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today questioned whether the SNP government can truly offer any hope when the number of people losing their lives because of drugs rose by 11% last year.  

1,113 people died of drugs in 2025- 116 more than the previous year.

The drug deaths emergency has been worsened by the rising availability of new synthetic opioids, some of which are hundreds of times more potent than heroin.

In December 2023, Mr Cole-Hamilton wrote to the Scottish Government's drugs minister to warn that experts were concerned about synthetic opioids which were expected to fill a global shortage of heroin.

In January 2024, Mr Cole-Hamilton MSP challenged then First Minister Humza Yousaf during First Minister’s Questions about his government’s real-terms cuts to the drugs budget despite the emerging use of nitazenes in Scotland.

He has subsequently raised the issue repeatedly in the Scottish Parliament and in the media.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for a national rollout of safer drug consumption centres, long overdue drug checking services and multi-year funding for all drug and alcohol services.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Every year, this government promises to deal with Scotland’s drug deaths emergency. Every year, more people die.

“I’ve listened with some concern today as the First Minister has attempted to explain this with reference to the spike in synthetics like it was somehow unexpected.

“But I first uttered the word ‘nitazene’ in this chamber, some three years ago, when Humza Yousaf was First Minister. Back then, these drugs were connected to just nine deaths in Scotland.

“Last year, it took the lives of 247 people.

“The warning signs were there. 10 times I raised this. I wrote to ministers, asked questions of First Ministers, appeared at Committee. Experts warned his government that nitazenes were coming, and that they were deadly.

“It begs the question of the First Minister: if this truly is the SNP’s national mission, why has it failed?”

He went on to say:

“This is a particularly Scottish problem.

“But we know what works.

“Drug checking works- but we’ve waited long enough.

“Safe consumption rooms work- so why is there only one of them?

“Aberlour’s mother and baby units work- an intervention we insisted was part of the budget. They are saving lives and we need more of them.

“The government says this is an emergency, but it is trapped in the headlights.

“They have thrown money, statements and ministers at this.

“And yet a hundred people are dying every single month because of drugs.

“So, if this really is the government trying its best, what hope is there?”