A COSLA Spokesperson said:

"Every death from drug misuse is a tragedy. These numbers represent loved ones: parents, sons, daughters and siblings. It is a stark reminder of the challenges we still need to overcome across the public and third sectors to end deaths of this nature.

"Local Authorities continue to work in partnership with a wide range of agencies to support to people affected by addiction and drug misuse, and reduce the devastating impacts on our communities."

Further information

The statistics were published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) and can be found here.