Scotland recorded a sharp increase in drug-related deaths in 2025, with the growing presence of powerful synthetic opioids known as nitazenes emerging as a major concern.
New figures show that 1,133 people died from drug use in Scotland last year, an increase of 116 deaths, or 11%, from 2024. Nitazenes were implicated in 247 deaths, accounting for 22% of the total and representing a rise of more than 200% from 76 deaths the previous year.
Nitazenes are laboratory-made opioids that can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin. They are increasingly appearing in Scotland’s illicit drug supply and may be mixed with other substances, creating additional risks for people who may not know what they are taking.
Heroin and morphine remained the drugs most frequently implicated, featuring in 468 deaths, while methadone was involved in 338. Cocaine was implicated in 589 deaths, or 52% of all drug deaths.
Drug-related deaths were also heavily concentrated in deprived communities, with the rate in Scotland’s most deprived areas 15 times higher than in the least deprived.
The Scottish government has announced expanded drug-checking services, beginning in Glasgow next month, as authorities seek to respond to an increasingly unpredictable illicit drug market.
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