39 drug deaths in West Lothian

Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillor Sally Pattle has today revealed that there were 39 drug-related deaths in West Lothian last year alone.

It follows new figures showing that there were 1,133 drug use deaths registered in Scotland, an increase of 11% on 2024.

Figures published by the National Records for Scotland show that in 2025 alone:

• There were 39 drug deaths in West Lothian.
• This was an increase of 77.3% compared to 2024.
• In the last 10 years, the number of drug deaths in West Lothian has increased by 160%.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillor Sally Pattle said:

“It is deeply upsetting to see so many drug deaths in West Lothian. Each death represents nothing short of a tragedy for families.

“We are now five years into the SNP’s national mission to tackle drug deaths, but the crisis has now taken a major turn for the worse.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have been warning the government about nitazenes for almost three years, but ministers have done nowhere near enough to get on top of that threat.

“We now need to see a national rollout of safer drug consumption centres, including for those in West Lothian, because these facilities are proven to save lives.

“From introducing multi-year funding for all drug and alcohol services to long overdue drug checking services, there is no shortage of powers that the Scottish Government has at its disposal to end this crisis.”