Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of drug misuse or possession have been recorded within Scottish prisons in each of the last five years.
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
The Scottish Prison Service does not record instances of drug misuse. Included in the following table are incidents of Drug Possession:
Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Number of incidents of Drug Possession* | 90 | 430 | 279 | 445 | 324 |
*The figures represent recorded instances of illegal/unauthorised drugs this may include non-prescribed medications.