The SNP have been accused of “failing” the most vulnerable Scots after new statistics revealed drug deaths have soared by a third in just three months.
There were 308 suspected fatalities linked to drug misuse between January and March 2025, despite the opening of a drugs consumption in Glasgow in January.
Nationalists and the Scottish Government have praised the facility where addicts can shoot up heroin and crack cocaine under medical supervision.
It is costing £2.3 million of public cash to run with the insistence that it will help cut drug deaths and take illegal substances off the streets.
Locals living near the centre have complained about a rise in abandoned needles and crime but these concerns have been ignored by the SNP-led Glasgow City Council.
Calls have even been made by some SNP politicians to include a room where addicts can smoke crack as well.
Critics say the facility isn’t saving lives but instead “feeding addiction” as the government was urged to seek out other solutions, including the Right to Recovery Bill.
Statistics published on Tuesday showed that there was a 33% increase in drug deaths between January and March 2025 compared to October to December 2024.
Out of the 308 reported, the vast majority were men, 244 being male compared to 64 women. There were nine suspected drug deaths in the under 25 age group, which was 80% (four) more than during the the last quarter. The majority (63%) were aged between 35 and 54.
Scottish Conservative shadow minister for drugs Annie Wells MSP said: “These devastating figures should be a source of shame for deluded SNP ministers, whose strategy to tackle drug deaths is clearly failing. They are completely detached from the reality of this national crisis which has spiralled to record levels on their watch.
Consumption rooms should get the green light while this flagship one is failing people so badly. The SNP need to drop their failed approach and finally back the Right to Recovery Bill which guarantees treatment for all those who need it.”
Scottish Labour’s Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “This shocking rise in drug deaths shows just how badly the SNP is failing the country’s most desperate and vulnerable people.
“The SNP should focus on building proper pathways to rehab so that anyone who wants to quit an addiction has the help they need to do so. Each of these deaths is a tragedy – the SNP must act urgently to prevent the crisis spiralling further out of control.”
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.”
You can find the full statistics here