DRUG related deaths in Scotland have soared to their highest ever level, with 867 people dying last year, up by 23 per cent on 2015.

The number of people dying in Scotland because of drugs is now two-and-a-half times the rate for the the rest of the UK, and possibly even the highest in Europe.

Drug charities had been expecting the rise but were still left numbed by the sheer scale. Many if not most of those deaths were preventable. The Scottish Drugs Forum called the situation a “national tragedy”.

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The majority of those who died were the so-called Trainspotting generation, with over-35s making up 606 of the deaths. Many will have health complications from long-term drug use, a chaotic home life, poverty and little to no engagement with what limited support is available.

Most of those who died were taking more than one drug.

One or more opiates or opioids were implicated in or contributed to a staggering 765 of the deaths, with heroin and morphine reported in 473, and methadone in 362.

Benzodiazepines – most commonly diazepam or etizolam, a valium like pill, often taken by heroin users to add to the depressant effect of that drug – were present in 426 deaths, about 49 per cent.

There were huge discrepancies across the country, with drug deaths more than doubling in East Ayrshire, Falkirk, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire.

David Liddell, chief executive officer of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: “Fatal drug overdoses are personal tragedies for the individuals concerned and for their families and friends. These are clearly of a scale which is a national tragedy that requires a fundamental rethink of our approach.

“Other countries have achieved a reduction in overdose deaths by ensuring that people are appropriately retained in high-quality treatment, and we must aspire to do the same.”

Last month, the Scottish Government promised a refresh of their drugs strategy, the Road To Recovery, which was first launched in 2008.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: “We are dealing with a very complex problem in Scotland – a legacy of drugs misuse stretching back decades.

“What we are seeing is an ageing group of people who are long-term drugs users. They have a pattern of addiction which is very difficult to break, and they have developed other chronic medical conditions as a result of this prolonged drugs use.”

“There are no easy solutions, but we recognise that more needs to be done.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said the figures were shocking. He criticised government decisions to cut direct funding for rehabilitation and treatment drug and alcohol partnerships by £15 million.

The government said an uplift in NHS funding should mean health boards make up the missing amount.

Cole-Hamilton said: “The Scottish Government slashed funding to drug and alcohol partnerships by more than 20 per cent. Valuable local facilities have shut their doors. It is even clearer now that this was completely the wrong decision. These services are best placed to intervene and help avoid lives being lost.”

The Tories called for a parliamentary enquiry.

Andrew Horne, director of Addaction Scotland, the country’s largest provider of community drug and alcohol services, said: “These figures are a national badge of shame. For all of us at Addaction, these numbers are much more than statistics; they are the people we worked with, got to know, tried to help and cared for deeply.

“We see that the current system doesn’t work for everyone and we know Scotland needs to invest more in substance misuse and mental health services, so that together we can find the best ways for people to thrive.”

About 30 per cent of the deaths were in Glasgow.

Earlier this year Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership backed plans to create a safe injecting facility or shooting gallery, for heroin users in the city.