A group of randomly chosen Scots will help MSPs come up with creative solutions to tackle drug deaths, Holyrood has announced – launching the people’s panel on drug harms.

Composed of 25 people from across Scotland who the Scottish parliament says are ‘broadly representative of the Scottish population’, the people’s panel will work together to scrutinise Scotland’s efforts to reduce drug harms and what it should do now.

A total of 1,172 people died from drug-related causes in Scotland last year, an increase of 121 from 2022.

The panel will look to help address Scotland’s drug crisis by considering the question: ‘What does Scotland need to do differently to reduce drug-related harms?’

Clare Haughey, Convener of the Scottish parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:

“The number of drug related deaths and the impact of drug related harms has been a cause for concern for many years.

“It is an issue which deserves national attention and that’s why it’s so important a range of views from across Scotland are heard.

“Holding a people’s panel on this topic is an opportunity for a broad section of Scotland’s society to shape political discourse, to consider this matter in detail and to make recommendations which can help tackle this issue.”

Last month, 5,000 invitation letters were sent to randomly selected households across Scotland – and 25 people were then chosen to form the panel.

Over two weekends, the people’s panel will hear testimony from those with lived experience, academics, researchers and other stakeholders who work in this area.

Due to meet for the first time this month, it will hear from organisations including Community Justice Scotland, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and the Scottish Drugs Forum on the issue of drug-related harms.

This comes as one of Scotland’s initiatives to address the drug crisis, the UK’s first safe consumption drug-checking facility in Glasgow has announced delays to its planned opening this year.

The panel will consider all the evidence, before producing final report which will lay out what they see as the key issues and provide recommendations for action to tackle these issues.

This report will help inform the Scottish parliament’s cross-committee scrutiny on matters related to reducing drug deaths and tackling problem drug use by the Criminal Justice Committee, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

Audrey Nicoll, Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee, said it is essential that parliament is proactive in the public in its work to tackle the drug deaths crisis:

“The issue of how to tackle drug deaths and drug related harms is one of great and urgent national importance.

“This people’s panel can offer a fresh perspective on this issue.

“It is vital that the Scottish parliament is proactive in involving the people of Scotland in its work. This is a unique opportunity for MSPs on our Committees to hear grassroots views which can help in holding the government to account.”

Collette Stevenson, Convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said:

“We know that drug related deaths and the myriad harms of drug use cause pain and distress to people and families across Scotland.

“Our committees look forward to engaging with the panel and hearing their recommendations on what more they feel can and should be done to tackle this issue.”

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