Dozens of Highland children under four have been hospitalised for taking drugs in the last two years.
Shock new figures show that almost 50 toddlers had to receive emergency care after ingesting drugs.
The statistics, released under freedom of information legislation, also reveal children as young as 10 have been hospitalised for abusing alcohol across the north of Scotland.
Last night, the Liberal Democrats’ Alex Cole-Hamilton said the figures would “send a shiver down the spine of parents” – and attacked the Scottish Government for cutting funding for drug and alcohol services.
But Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell insisted drug-taking among young people is at its lowest level in a decade.
A total of 296 children under 18 have been hospitalised in the Highlands for taking drugs since 2014/15 of whom were under four.
Recreational drug overdoses accounted for 25 of the cases, while others included accidental poisoning.
Mr Cole Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, said: “Accidents happen, and NHS staff do a fantastic job of helping when they do happen, but we need to understand why so many children aged four or under have been put at risk in this way.
“There is no silver bullet to tackling Scotland’s drink and drug problems but it is fair to say that cutting resources for drug and alcohol services will not help one bit, and could leave people stranded.”
Across the country a total of 3,336 children were admitted to emergency departments or to hospital in 2014/15 and 2015/16 as a result of drug and alcohol misuse.
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “The Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (HADP) deliver preventative education around drugs and alcohol to children, young people and their families.
“Over the last few years, the partnership has incorporated prevention resources for education into a substance misuse toolkit that anyone can access to help increase their knowledge and reduce associated harms relating to drugs and alcohol.”
Public Health Minister Ms Campbell added: “These figures show the number of children admitted for drugs and alcohol fell by 13% over this period. Drug taking among young people is the lowest in a decade.
“The health secretary has made clear that Alcohol and Drug Partnership budgets must be maintained at the 2015/16 level.”
