When it comes to substance abuse, powder, needles and empty bottles are the first images that come to mind.
However, Aberdeen Alcohol & Drug Action boss Fraser Hoggan has singled out a powerful pharmaceutical as the latest substance the city is battling.
The drug in question is a synthetic opioid called nitazenes.
And according to a report from the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response Network, use of the substance is on the up.
The powerful opioid has been found in samples sold as oxycodone, heroin, promethazine and benzodiazepines.
Drug use landscape ever-changing
Since the formation of Alcohol & Drug Action in 1986, Fraser Hoggan said he’s seen the landscape of drug use change dramatically.
Fraser Hoggan said: “Drug use never stands still.”
Back in the 1980s, the organization was primarily dealing with the use of volatile substances like glue, solvents and gas, he said.
In the 1990s heroin use became a bigger problem, he added.
He said: “About ten years ago now you had new psychoactive substances, or legal highs as they were probably unhelpfully called now for a while.”
“Now we have a lot of synthetic drugs, and a lot of pharmaceuticals which are very powerful.”
Aberdeen City Council awarded the organisation with an £8.6 million contract to provide an alcohol and drug support service for the next five years.
The organisation also held the previous contract.
While grappling with pharmaceuticals, impacts of Covid hard to pin down
The Alcohol & Drug Action boss said one thing the organization will have to reckon with is the impacts of Covid. So far, he said, those have been hard to pin down.
Drug deaths were down in 2022 in Aberdeen from a decade-long high of 62 to 42 deaths last year.
Some 42 deaths were linked to illicit substances in the city in 2022, down from a decade-long high of 62 the previous year.
2022 also saw a decrease in Aberdeenshire, where the number of deaths fell by seven to 24 throughout the year.
Although numbers for the first-half of 2023 suggested the decline wasn’t continuing.
Around 46 deaths in the north-east were linked to drugs in the first six months of 2023.
There were 18 drug-linked deaths in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray there were 18 drug-linked deaths between January and March 2023. Between April and June, there were 28 – the third highest figure in Scotland.
Some politicians, like Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden have been critical of the government’s response.
Speaking back in September, he said there is an “appalling situation which is unfolding across the North East.”
He said: “At the moment, the current approach to drug addiction clearly isn’t working in areas such as Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.”
An Aberdeen Health and Social Care Partnership spokesman said: “Further to a rigorous and competitive tender process we are delighted that Alcohol & Drugs Action will be providing support for people affected by drug and alcohol related issues.
“The seven-day service they provide is very important given the ongoing challenge of drug and alcohol harm in our communities.
“Drug related deaths are a tragedy and devastating for our communities. We welcome the discussion on all practical ways of helping vulnerable people get the help they need.”
Conversation