England and Wales have witnessed drug-poisoning deaths at their highest since 1993, with 5,448 fatalities reported last year – 11% more than in 2022. Cocaine deaths were an alarming ten times higher than a decade ago, totalling over 1,100 lives lost, whereas just under have involved opiate use like heroin. Generation X men between 40 and 49 experienced the highest rate of drug deaths, according the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The charity Change Grow Live claims inequality, synthetic drugs, mental health issues, and financial struggles contribute to the high figures. They urge an increase in public health grant funding during the Budget planned for 30 October, and assert harm-reduction services must target those mostly at risk.
Record highs of drug-related deaths are concerning, given the use of new powerful synthetic opioid such as nitazenes, which are several times stronger than heroin. The charity Transform believes that cocaine’s purity is increasing, leading to users taking the drug more frequently and in combination with other substances. Such consumptions may occur as a result of the government’s recent clampdown on cutting agents including benzocaine, according to Transform’s Martin Powell.
The areas significantly affected by drug deaths are the North East, for the eleventh consecutive year, and London, which currently boasts the lowest rate of drug poisoning. The government recognizes the problem of drug use throughout England and Wales and will work across the health, policing and other sectors to reduce drug use.
Criticising such a high rate of drug deaths, Vicky Unwin has spoken about her daughter’s overdose on ketamine in 2011, which coincided with the legalisation of mephedrone. She believes the problem of illegal drug usage is the result of poor awareness. Unwin called for drug awareness to form part of the curriculum during the recent Royal Society of Medicine conference, and urged authorities to widen the remit of the Safer Drugs Consumption Facility in Glasgow, which allows people to consume controlled drugs under medical supervision. The previous Tory government said there were no plans to decriminalize drugs in a statement released last year, and advertised plans to reduce harm through treatment and recovery steps and limiting the supply of illegal drugs
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