Drug-related deaths and drug offences

This is the latest post in a monthly series reproducing Andrew Brown’s monthly slideshare of interesting new facts about alcohol and other drugs which he has unearthed from a wide range of reports.

Andrew works for MEAM/Making Every Adult Matter, the coalition of three national charities (Clinks, Homeless Link and Mind) who champion the cause of people experiencing multiple needs and who have been kind enough to allow Andrew’s monthly slideshares to be re-published here.

This month’s slides focus particularly on drug-related deaths but also on the proportion of prisoners convicted of drug offences and the use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

Among other things I learnt that:

• There has been an upward trend in drug-related deaths in Scotland over the last 20 years (slide 3)
• There has been a big increase in the number of 40-60 year olds dying from drug misuse-related causes (slide 5)
• As many women die from drug misuse as from cervical cancer (slide 7)
• Blackpool has by far the highest rate of drug misuse related deaths in England (slide 9)
• The number of first time entrants into the criminal justice system charged with drug offences has fallen consistently over the last 7 years (slide 11)