Scotland currently has the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe. The opioid epidemic in Scotland is extremely dangerous. The National Crime Agency has revealed that a dangerous new drug is responsible for 176 deaths in the UK. Of these deaths, 47 were in Scotland. Drug addiction in Scotland is in critical condition. Scots have become addicted to a kind of drug whose destructive effect is up to five hundred times stronger than heroin. This article examines the appalling epidemic of industrial drugs in Scotland.
Opioid Epidemic in Scotland: Warning regarding the spread of nitazenes use
The external alert, issued by The Loop on behalf of Bristol City Council, said Nitazen had been detected in several different samples in the city. They urged people to avoid using heroin on their own and to call 999 immediately if they overdose. The opioid epidemic in Scotland has become alarming. After the discovery of a synthetic drug that is 500 times stronger than heroin, it became necessary to issue a warning. Such artificial substances increase the risk of overdose, hospitalization, and death.
The possibility of disaster following the use of nitazenes
Loop chief executive Katy Porter told the BBC it was the first time the service, which has been operating regularly in Bristol since January, has had to issue a nitazenes warning. It came as police issued a significant incident alert in north Devon. Police have warned of a potent batch of heroin after the deaths of two men. She said that while it was not possible at this stage to say whether the drugs tested were the same class of drugs that admitted the ten people to Devon Hospital, it was important that people used the drug testing service so that issues could be identified.
Nitazenes is up to 500 times stronger than heroin
The opioid epidemic in Scotland has led to the issuance of a warning in this regard. Loop’s warning says nitazenes are 50 to 500 times more potent than heroin, with an increased risk of overdose and no associated increase in the euphoric effect. They said the samples tested in Bristol contained potentially lethal doses of nitazenes. Porter said: “We encourage people to use the service because if we don’t have substances submitted to us, we can’t check them. The more substances put forward, the more we understand what’s in circulation.”
The dangerous opioid
Nitazenes are synthetic opioids that are stronger and may last longer than many other opioids. They are up to 500 times stronger than heroin. Nitazenes are dangerous and vary in strength – some nitazenes are so strong that there is no safe dose. The purity of the drug can also be different in a batch. Nitazen has also been found in counterfeit vapes and pills like benzodiazepines. Nitazen has also been found in drugs believed to be heroin or MDMA.
High death rate due to drug abuse
The opioid epidemic in Scotland could lead to a catastrophic situation in this country. The National Crime Agency Director General revealed the latest figures at a Police Scotland meeting in Glasgow. Graeme Biggar warned that there would be more deaths that the coroner had yet to identify. “It has the real potential to escalate and become the major cause of deaths,” he said. We have to disrupt it as much as we can, but it’s hard because drugs are cheap and small, and for organized criminals, it seems like a perfect way to grow your business.
Unreliability of previous estimates of drug prevalence in Scotland
Previous official estimates of drug prevalence in Scotland are no longer considered appropriate. This is due to the availability of available data. As a result, Public Health Scotland (PHS) launched a new initiative. The initiative was launched in partnership with the University of Bristol and Glasgow Caledonian University. They received funding to develop a new method to estimate the prevalence of opioid dependence in Scotland. This new method was created using administrative linked health data sets. This includes anonymous information from interactions with public services, such as the NHS.
Scotland has a record number of drug-related deaths
Scotland has the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe, with 1,051 people dying as a result of preventable drug overdoses in 2022. In March 2024, PHS published the first report from this new public health surveillance partnership, which estimated the number of people with opioid dependence in Scotland. We estimated that between 2014 and 2019, approximately 1.3% of Scotland’s adult population was dependent on opiates, and this percentage was stable. The report concludes that the most likely explanation for these changes is that there is an older cohort in Scotland with problematic opioid use.
The great danger of nitazenes to the public health system
There is a great danger that it will occur, like a tsunami. Aid and Abet’s co-founder Kevin Neary told BBC Scotland: “If they want to prevent more deaths, they need to get more information and support out there.” Kirsten Horsburgh, Chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum, described the figures as a significant concern and said Scotland was unprepared for a major nitazene influx. “We’re already not managing our current public health emergency concerning the number of drug-related deaths, so this is another potential crisis on top of the one that we already have,” she said.
Scottish Government measures to combat drugs
Drugs and alcohol minister Christina McKelvie said the Government had invested £250m in its National Drugs Mission. It supports people affected by drug use and supports more than 300 projects. It also offers a safe drug testing centre and drug control facility. “We’re working hard to respond to the growing threat from super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply,” she said.
Scotland and the state of the drug abuse crisis
The opioid epidemic in Scotland is in a critical state. Short-term solutions to solve the drug abuse crisis in this country are not the answer. If immediate interventions are not made to solve this crisis, the situation will worsen shortly. Nitazenes are not like traditional drugs that have limited effects. They can destroy young Scots. Therefore, severe and new measures are needed to control it.
