Drug Deaths Report Shows Dundee Dark Side Lingers

By Matthew Rees, President of Politics Society

Dundee may no longer be the “drug death capital of Europe” but figures state the city is still one of the worst offenders.

The National Records of Scotland has published data showing Dundee still faces huge problems with drug misuse deaths and was among the worst affected areas in Scotland with over 1000 drug related deaths in 2024.

The annual report shows that Dundee suffered the second worst drugs mortality rate in Scotland, with 35.6 drug misuse deaths per 100,000 people.

Glasgow City was the worst affected area with a drug mortality rate of 41.1 per 100,000 people. Dundee’s rate per 100,000 people is up from 33.1 in 2023 and up from 24.2 in 2014.

Scotland’s total drug deaths fell from 1,172 in 2023 to 1,017 in 2024, showing a 13% decrease. This however is still a great increase from 613 in 2014. Those living in the most deprived areas and those of the lowest income made up a large portion of the figures.

One of the greater shocks shows that drug related deaths occurred in Scotland at almost 3 times the rate of other UK countries in 2023. In 2023, Scotland recorded drug poisoning deaths at 2.8 times the rate of parts of England and of Northern Ireland, and 1.9 times the rate of Wales.

However, there is another side to this. Scotland’s posting of Drugs & Alcohol Ministers, the individuals who take responsibility to lessen the rate of drugs-related deaths, has suffered somewhat in the last five years. The position has had four different ministers in that time, due to various reasons of cabinet reshufflings, resignations, and sadly, due to the 3rd appointed minister Christina McKelvie’s death. This has certainly had an impact on tackling the problem.

Despite all of this, Dundee has still to put forward a proposal for a potentially lifesaving safe consumption room like The Thistle in Glasgow. Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman has re-emphasised the urgency of a centre like this being opened in Dundee, but it remains to be seen if this will develop into more concrete plans.

Data from the 2022 Drug Deaths in Tayside report showed that most deaths occurred with a person, or persons, present at the scene – and the majority of those who died were known to either police or a specialist service before their death. This begs the question: how many of these 1,017 deaths across Scotland in 2024 could have been prevented right here in Dundee if a safe consumption room had been available to users; and isn’t it time it was?