“Alienation expresses itself in different ways in different people…those who seek to escape permanently from the reality of society through intoxicants and narcotics.” As of 2021, Scotland holds the title of Europe’s “drug death capital” with Dundee named the ‘drug and overdose capital’ city, however, this isn’t a new problem. Scotland’s rising statistics of drug related deaths and substance use have been a notable problem across the country since the 1980s. In 2024, Scotland recorded 1,017 drug use related deaths, a decrease of 155 (13%) in comparison 2023. Although this statistic was one of the lowest since 2017, it is still increasingly higher than those in 1996.
It has been found that 80% of drug related deaths that took place in 2024, where as a result of opioid use, such as Heroin, Morphine and Fentanyl, this reflects a similar picture to those in 2023. It is estimated that there are almost 60,000 people in Scotland battling with daily and prolonged use of opioids/ opiates or benzodiazepines.
Scottish postcodes which fall into quantile one areas on the SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) were 16 times more likely to see cases of drug related deaths than the less deprived areas of Scotland. As of 2020, 52.4% of drug use related deaths took place in such postcodes. Glasgow and Dundee, two cities with a series of quantile one postcodes, suffered from a 3.7% rise in drug use related deaths in 2022, compared to 2000.
Is there a new Trainspotting generation in the making?
In 1993, Scottish novelist and writer, Irvine Welsh released his first and now bestselling novel ‘Trainspotting’. The book follows a group of friends who live in Leith, Edinburgh, fighting heroin addiction. The novel was a landmark moment for society, highlighting a growing problem, not just in Edinburgh but across Scotland. Welsh was praised by health professionals for his work in providing an accurate portrayal of Edinburgh, illustrating how dynamic and dangerous the heroin market was becoming.
The ‘Trainspotting generation’ falls in the 1980’s when modern advances in the drugs market began to hit Europe and Scotland. Many of the countries drug related deaths have been recorded amongst those battling continued opioid, and substance use since their late teens/early 20’s, the generation of the 1980’s which Welsh was writing around.
This rise of heroin flowing into Europe was heavily influenced by the 1980’s when a new supply route opened up between Afghanistan and Iran making heroin more accessible and affordable than ever before, combined with a number of socio-economic factors. However, Edinburgh already had its own history manufacturing heroin, dating back to the 19thcentury a number of Edinburgh factories began producing pure opium and morphine injections, eventually the city became one of the world’s top opiate suppliers.
In August 2023, Irvine Welsh spoke to Sky News voicing concerns about an up and coming ‘Trainspotting generation’, one being brought about due to the on-going crisis and difficult living conditions in Scotland. “People do not have the choice now, there’s no avenues of social mobility left out of that desperation.”
Welsh recognised a connection between life for his characters in Leith during the 1980s and modern-day Scotland, with both points in time facing difficulties in redundancy, lack of community and sense of purpose which led to a nationwide feeling that there was no point living in such conditions. These many factors have since returned to Scotland following the harsh impacts of Covid-19 and the Cost-of-Living crisis.
In 2024 the average age of drug use related deaths was between 35-49 years with 467 (46%) of deaths occurring in this age range, this was an increase in ages compared to the 2000’s. However, the use of MDMA seems to be growing amongst Scottish teens, the country has seen a number of fatalities in the past year linked to the drug, with victims even as young as 16.
In early 2024, the SWG3, a popular Glasgow venue, faced connections with a rise in fatalities linked to youths taking Ecstasy on night outs. Between August 2023 and January 2024, three 18-year-olds died as a result of taking ‘highly potent ecstasy’ while attending club nights at the venue.
Tackling Scotland’s drug crisis:
At the end of 2020, the Scottish government announced 50 million pounds a year in funding, towards a five-year plan from 2021-2026. This plan is part of an effort to reduce drug related deaths and provide a safe environment for consumption, something that has been much needed in the country.
It was announced in September 2023, that the first drug consumption room in the UK would be in Glasgow, with an aim to open in Summer 2024. There are currently more than 200 safe drug consumption rooms around the world. Several investigations into the benefits of drug consumption rooms show that they have been effective in reducing deaths as a result of overdose, public injecting and drug-related litter.
Despite UK campaigners for safe drug consumption rooms having faced numerous difficulties from the ‘Drugs Misuse Act 1971, and controversy from the Home Office and opposition from the Scottish Conservatives under the leadership of Douglas Ross, Scotland’s safe drug consumption room opened in January this year.
Since opening for its ‘three-year trial period’ 10 months ago, local residents and MPs from the UK government have expressed repeated concerns and expressed unhappiness with the facility. Now, a report by the Scottish Affairs Committee has found that ‘mobile drug consumption units’ similar to those in Lisbon and The Netherlands, along with a number of other recommendations could be a more affordable and beneficial approach to The Thistle facility, allowing a greater outreach across Scotland.
