'Stop the deaths' – Uniting against preventable overdoses in Scotland

Scotland continues to face some of the highest drug-related death rates in Europe. The Scottish Drugs Forum Stop the Deaths conference in Glasgow brings together people who have lived this reality from every angle — families, frontline workers, people with lived and living experience, policymakers, and activists — to confront the scale of the emergency and demand meaningful change. Watch Drugreporter’s short documentary, filmed at this landmark event!

“This conference exists for one reason: to stop the deaths.” — Kirsten Horsburgh, CEO of the Scottish Drugs Forum, opens the event with shocking numbers: “Last year alone, 1,065 people are suspected to have lost their lives to preventable drug-related deaths. Over 18,000 people since recording of these tragedies started in 1996.”

A Public Health Emergency That Is Not Treated as Such

According to Elena Whitham MSP, SNP, Former Minister for Drugs Policy, there are multiple reasons behind the high level of preventable drug deaths in Scotland. The underlying issue is poverty and lack of opportunities, entrenched over several decades. Another factor is polydrug use and the high prevalence of benzodiazepine consumption — not only prescribed drugs, but fake, illicit benzodiazepines as well. On top of this, very strong new synthetic opioids, such as nitazenes, are increasingly present in the market and contribute to lethal overdoses.

“I think people just don’t know what they’re consuming. So the lack of drug checking for me is a big issue.” says Whitham.

“Covid was a public health emergency. Literally, laws were changed overnight. Billions of pounds of funding were allocated overnight. That, in my mind, is an emergency response. We’re treating this slightly differently, in my humble opinion, and we need bolder, swifter, stronger action from leaders to implement the stuff we know internationally works.” — Said Wez Steele, Senior Training and Development Officer (Peer Naloxone), SDF.

Evidence with a Deadly Implementation Gap

“Scotland has achieved a lot of progress,” said Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy and Sport. Scotland has opened its first legal safer drug consumption facility — The Thistle — to reduce overdoses and save lives. The country has also adopted national Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, which should ensure that people who use opioids can access high-quality, evidence-based treatment quickly and without unnecessary barriers. For example, opioid substitution treatment (OST) — such as methadone or buprenorphine — is available the same day someone asks for help. People should receive holistic, person-centred care; treatment should be flexible, with take-home doses; and services should aim to ensure equal access across regions.

Scotland has also expanded the capacity of residential rehabs and now operates a world-leading naloxone distribution system: police carry naloxone, ambulance staff provide it, prisons have programmes, and pharmacies distribute it as well.

But a recurring theme in the film is Scotland’s paradox: drug policy is officially evidence-based, yet implementation remains painfully slow. As Kirsten Horsburgh puts it:

“The issue is the implementation — and the implementation gap is measured in deaths. There are so many things that we need to be doing faster and at scale to truly address this as the public health emergency that it has been described as.”

The Thistle: The UK’s First Official Drug Consumption Room Already Saves Lives

When politicians and local officials speak about The Thistle, pride is unmistakable. The drug consumption room is indeed remarkable: it provides a safe, supervised space for people who inject drugs, but offers much more.

“We support people with not just their injections, but their wounds, their social needs or housing, trying to link and establish positive relationships with families,” explained Lynn MacDonald, Service Manager of The Thistle. The key principle is dignity: “We are trying to create an atmosphere where people feel welcome, they feel valued, they’re treated with dignity and respect when they come here.”

Social workers on site support people with health and housing needs, and can connect them to substitution programmes, drug-free rehabilitation, Housing First projects, and even a heroin-assisted treatment programme located next door.

“We’ve had nearly 5,000 injections taking place in the facility — that’s 5,000 injections that would have taken place on the streets, in gardens, or in parks.” said Councillor Allan Casey, SNP councillor for Glasgow City. He also explained that people with lived and living experience were involved in designing the centre — even in selecting the staff!

“That Glasgow has a drug consumption room today is definitely part of Peter Krykant’s legacy,” said Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release.

Participants at the conference paid tribute to the late Krykant, who challenged the system by operating an unsanctioned overdose prevention van in Glasgow, paving the way for the legal service to open. “For everyone who came into the van, he showed so much care, respect, and dignity — something many had not experienced in a long time, or ever.” added Eastwood.

What More Is Needed to Stop the Deaths?

“I would like to see drug checking facilities so that people understand what they’re using, and then they can make an informed choice. I would like to see safer consumption facilities across the country — in communities, in mobile vans. I would like to see them not just medicalised, but driven by grassroots communities. There’s a lot we could do — it’s just being brave enough to try it.” — said Elena Whitham, outlining the priorities.

Experts at the conference stressed the urgent need for drug checking services to address the contaminated drug supply. Since then, licenses have now been approved for a national drug checking lab in Dundee, and a drug checking service in Glasgow. They also called for expanding safer consumption rooms using diverse models — mobile vans, integration into homeless services, and community-led approaches.

“What we need is services based on people’s human rights,” says Jason Wallace, Programme Manager, Lived and Living Experience, SDF. “And if you can’t demonstrate how you are delivering people’s human rights, then maybe you should not be open to receive any of that funding.”

The Misuse of Drugs Act: Outdated and Blocking Progress

“To take a health approach, we need to decriminalise… and that’s where the change will come,” says Susan Grant, founder of Families Campaign for Change, a grassroots, peer-led group formed by families bereaved by drug-related deaths. Her position is echoed by politicians across parties.

“The Misuse of Drugs Act is completely out of date. It doesn’t support our work in Scotland to tackle drug harm — if anything, it undermines it.” — Said Audrey Nicoll MSP, SNP.

Liberal Democrat and Green politicians echoed this frustration.

“If there’s one thing that makes someone more likely to stay addicted or become addicted, more likely to contract HIV or hepatitis C, more likely to commit future offences, and less likely to ever feel in control of their life… it’s sending them to prison. And we’re still doing that.” — agreed Patrick Harvie MSP, Co-Leader, Scottish Greens.

Even though the Misuse of Drugs Act remains a barrier, speakers stress that Scotland still has considerable room to innovate within its devolved legal framework.

“There are things we can do in Scotland through our specific legal system and with the independent legal authority of the Lord Advocate to make things happen. We must not use the Misuse of Drugs Act as an excuse not to push forward.” — said Kirsten Horsburgh.

“I’m comfortable with Scotland being the disruptors,” added Elena Whitham. “Being a disruptor is a good thing — that’s where change happens. We just need to take our communities with us. Politicians need to put the politics aside and get around the table, because what we all want is to save people’s lives.”

Reporter: Péter Sárosi
Video and article: István Gábor Takács

Production by: Rights Reporter Foundation
Post-production by: Rights Reporter gGmbH