Finnie calls for drug deaths inquiry
Green MSP John Finnie has today (14 March) called on the Scottish Government to instruct a statutory public inquiry into drugs deaths in Scotland.
Mr Finnie, who is the Co-Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Drug and Alcohol Misuse, questioned the First Minister on the rising number of drug deaths in Scotland, in parliament this afternoon.
Scotland saw a record 934 drug deaths in 2017, in comparison there were 146 road traffic deaths in the same year.
It is feared the figure for 2018 could be significantly higher.
John Finnie MSP said:
“There were over 900 drug deaths in 2017. This is around eight times the EU average, and it is feared that the figure for 2018 will be even higher.
“Given the scale of this public health crisis, the Scottish Government must urgently hold a public inquiry and commit to acting on its findings in order to end this ongoing tragedy.“