Drugs minister Maree Todd has said she will never “sit back, relax and say ‘job done’” in the fight against drug deaths.

Todd was appointed to the role in June following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year from secondary breast cancer.

Despite the circumstances of the appointment, the former mental health pharmacist said she was “excited” to move from the social care brief to drugs as the Government continues its push to tackle the level of addiction and death across Scotland.

The minister inherits a legacy which has been long-criticised by opponents, with Scotland having the highest drug death rates in Europe – a figure which actually increased between 2022 and 2023 in the latest available confirmed data.

Just this week, figures showed the number of suspected drug deaths

See Full Page