Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to specifically address the misuse of opiates/opioids.
The Drug Deaths Taskforce was set up in 2019 to provide evidence-based expert advice on tackling the misuse of drugs. Toxicology results tell us that opiates/opioids were, and still are the main substances implicated in drug deaths in Scotland, with polydrug use being a significant factor.
After January 2021 when the National Mission was launched, the Scottish Government published the MAT standards, and through their continuing implementation, transformational change has taken place in drug treatment services throughout Scotland.
Methadone remains the primary form of medication assisted treatment, as an internationally accepted and evidence-based form of opioid antagonist. In the 12-month period ending 31 March 2024, Opioid Substitution Therapy was prescribed to a minimum of 29,817 people for the treatment of opioid dependence.