Main Points

• In 2024, there were 1,017 drug misuse deaths registered in Scotland, a decrease of 13% (155 deaths) compared with 2023. 
• Drug misuse deaths increased over the last two decades to their peak in 2020. They have generally decreased since then, with the exception of a 12% increase in 2023. The latest figure is the lowest number registered in any year since 2017.
• After adjusting for age, there were 19.1 drug misuse deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. This is 3.6 times as high as when the series began in 2000.
• In 2024, males were more than twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as females. Both male and female deaths decreased in the past year.
• The age profile of drug misuse deaths has become older over time. The average age of drug misuse deaths has increased from 32 years in 2000 to 45 years in 2024.
• In 2024, people in the most deprived areas of Scotland were 12 times as likely to have a drug misuse death compared to people in the least deprived areas. In contrast, for all causes of death, people in the most deprived areas are around twice as likely to die as those in the least deprived areas.
• After adjusting for age, Glasgow City, Dundee City and Inverclyde had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths in the period 2020-2024. 
• The most common drugs implicated in drug misuse deaths in 2024 were opiates/opioids (80% of deaths), benzodiazepines (56%) and cocaine (47%). 
• The number of drug misuse deaths which implicated opiates/opioids and benzodiazepines fell in 2024. The number which implicated cocaine remained the highest in the series (479 deaths in both 2023 and 2024).
• The majority (91%) of drug misuse deaths were classified as accidental poisonings, with 6% classed as intentional self-poisonings.