Scotland May Now Have Highest Rate of Drug-Related Deaths in the EU
Drug-related deaths in Scotland have reached the highest figure ever recorded, and the rate of such deaths may now be the highest in the EU. This highlights the urgent need for harm reduction measures, such as the establishing of a safe drug consumption room.
Data published on August 15 by the National Records of Scotland suggest that Scotland now has the highest rate of drug-related deaths of any country in the European Union. Across Scotland, the report says, there were 160 drug-related deaths per one million people in 2016. This compares with an estimated 65.8 per million in England and Wales, and a European average of 20.3 per million. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction estimates that the EU country with the closest rate of drug-induced deaths is Estonia, with 102 such deaths per million adults. (talkingdrugs.org, UK, 15.08.2017)
http://www.talkingdrugs.org/scotland-may-now-have-highest-rate-of-drug-related-deaths-in-the-eu