Swinney backs decriminalisation as drug deaths branded 'indefensible'

John Swinney has backed the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use as his government’s record on drug deaths was branded “indefensible”.

The First Minister was challenged after statistics for 2025 showed an 11 per cent increase in drug-related deaths, with 1,133 people losing their lives.

Scotland continues to have by far the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe.

John Swinney | PA

Mr Swinney said the situation was “unacceptable and intolerable” and repeated the government’s view that it is a “public health emergency”.

Reform UK has lodged a motion of no confidence in Maree Todd, the SNP drug minister, although this is unlikely to pass.

READ MORE: Why so many men are being killed by Scotland's drug deaths crisis as synthetic substances take hold

“This isn't about one bad year's numbers,” the party said in a statement. “It's about a drugs minister and her government who keep dodging the question of who should shoulder the blame.

“Families don't want platitudes or another review. Bereaved families want someone in government to finally be held accountable.”

Mr Swinney said ministers are “exhausting every element of the powers and responsibilities that we have to address the situation”.

Speaking to journalists in Holyrood, he was asked about the SNP’s policy of supporting decriminalisation, where people would no longer face penalties if they were caught with drugs for personal use.

He said: “The government does support that position that there is an argument for decriminalisation of drugs for personal use.

“I think it would be part of the range of measures that we could take to reduce the harm of drugs and provide us with a situation where there is more control and an ability to provide greater support to individuals who are affected by drug use.

“It’s obviously an issue that requires further consideration but the government supports that position.

“I have to take the approach that I judge to be necessary. We have engaged extensively with families to listen with care to the issues they think the government needs to confront in taking forward this agenda. The range of those measures is testing to the limits what we can do here.”

Westminster has control over drugs laws, so Mr Swinney does not have the power to pursue decriminalisation.

Earlier, the First Minister pledged to work with new Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra after he challenged him on the SNP government’s “indefensible” record on drugs deaths.

Mr Swinney sent his “deepest sympathies” to all those who have lost a loved one, as he blamed both the impact of “intergenerational poverty and trauma” and an “upsurge in grossly harmful synthetics” for the latest rise in deaths.

He said he had been briefed in February that increasing use of synthetic opioids could fuel an increase in fatalities.

Mr Marra said deaths in Scotland had “skyrocketed” 12 years ago.

“Over 7,000 people have lost their lives since the Scottish government declared a public health emergency,” he said in Holyrood.

“We can not go on like this. This is one of the most serious issues facing Scotland.”

He argued the government would have “found the money” and “reformed indiscriminately” if drug deaths were a middle-class issue.

Challenging Mr Swinney to act, he said: “If the First Minister is prepared to change course and bring a new plan to Parliament, Scottish Labour will work with him on it.”

The SNP leader said he welcomed “the willingness of Mr Marra to engage with the government on this question and I will ensure that is taken forward”.

Reform UK’s Scottish leader Malcom Offord said the government’s “national mission on drugs has collapsed” and “the blame lies squarely on the SNP”.

Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay urged the First Minister to shut down Glasgow’s drug consumption room and instead spend the money on rehab services.

He said this was needed as the “SNP’s failed approach traps addicts in a life of misery, sending thousands to an early grave by peddling the lie that inherently dangerous drugs can be taken safely”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said he had warned about a “spike in synthetics” three years ago.

“Back then, these drugs were connected to just nine deaths in Scotland,” he said. “Last year, they took the lives of 247 people. The warning signs were there; 10 times I raised this.

“I wrote to ministers, asked questions of first ministers, appeared at committee. Experts warned his government that nitazenes were coming, and that they were deadly.

“It begs the question of the First Minister, if this truly is the SNP’s national mission, why has it failed?”

Mr Swinney said the government had taken the upsurge in nitazenes seriously and had engaged with Police Scotland.

He said “literally one new drug a week is being produced” by criminals.

READ MORE: SNP 'hellbent on continuing failed approach' to Scotland's drug deaths crisis as fatalities soar

Figures from the National Records of Scotland show the rate of deaths from drug poisoning was 2.4 times higher in Scotland than in England, 1.6 times greater than in Northern Ireland and 1.5 times more than in Wales – with these figures covering 2024, the most recent year for which data is available for all parts of the UK.

Nitazenes – synthetic opioids – were implicated in 247 drug use deaths in 2025, with Etonitazene, the most common nitazene, being involved in 215 drug use deaths.

Drugs deaths were down by 5 per cent for women but skyrocketed by 19 per cent for men.

More than one drug was implicated in 78 per cent of deaths, with the figures also showing a 23 per cent rise in deaths where cocaine was implicated, the highest on record.