The Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report(October 2024), identified the following key trends:
Polysubstance use continues to drive the majority of harms, with high-risk combinations frequently involving cocaine, gabapentinoids, benzodiazepines (notably diazepam and bromazolam) and opioids
Emerging synthetic drugs such as potent nitazene-type opioids and xylazine are increasingly reported in harms
Cocaine continues to be the most common substance in both post-mortem toxicology and the ASSIST emergency department project
Contamination of drugs remains prevalent, with substances often not containing what the purchaser intended; this spans across drug types, including powders, vapes and pills (even in apparent medicines like those in blister packs)
It is estimated that, in Scotland (2019/20), there were 47,100 people with opioid dependence aged 15 to 64 years (a prevalence of 1.32%)4Public Health Scotland . (2024, March...