The Scottish government’s attempts to spin the latest drugs deaths statistics are a grim response to a total failure of public policy, not to mention revealing of the attitudes of those responsible. While admitting the ongoing problem was ‘unacceptable’, the Scottish government could be found ‘welcoming an end to seven annual increases in drugs deaths’ in the opening line of its press release.

Last year, 1,330 people died as a result of drug misuse in Scotland, nine fewer than in 2020.