More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025

Responding to new figures showing that there were 308 suspected drug deaths in the first three months of 2025, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis. It is nothing short of a national tragedy.

“Drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland. That’s why my party made access to drug and alcohol services a major part of our budget negotiations earlier this year.

“As a former youth worker with a charity that focused on parental substance use, I was pleased to secure support for a new facility for mothers and their babies born addicted to drugs. That’s key to getting people on the right path, but there is still a mountain to climb.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves. From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug checking facilities, it’s time ministers listened to our calls.”