Key facts
- Scotland is facing a growing crisis due to the proliferation of new synthetic opioids and cannabinoids, which are making the illicit drug supply more dangerous.
- These synthetic substances, including nitazenes and orphines, can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin.
- Organized crime groups are mixing these potent substances with existing drugs to increase profits.
- Tighter controls in China and Afghanistan's poppy ban have pushed production closer to consumer markets like Scotland.
- Nitazenes were linked to 76 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2024, a significant increase from the prior year.
- Dundee University's Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science is expanding its role to provide near real-time information on new substances to communities and inform government policy.
Scotland's ongoing struggle with high drug death rates is being exacerbated by the emergence of potent new synthetic opioids and cannabinoids, according to experts and law enforcement officials. These substances, often manufactured in clandestine laboratories, are significantly more dangerous than traditional drugs like heroin and are being mixed into the illicit drug supply by organized crime groups seeking to maximize profits.
Dr. Lorna Nisbet, a forensic scientist at Dundee University's Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, stated that the illicit drug supply in Scotland is becoming increasingly dangerous. Unlike plant-derived drugs, many new substances are synthesized, with some synthetic opioids like nitazenes and orphines being hundreds of times more potent than heroin. Superintendent Niven Bull of Police Scotland condemned the actions of organized crime groups, highlighting that tighter controls in China and Afghanistan's poppy ban have pushed production closer to consumer markets.
Police Scotland has conducted raids on suspected nitazene factories, leading to arrests. In July 2025, an alleged illicit drugs laboratory was discovered in Patna, Ayrshire, resulting in three arrests. Earlier in 2025, two men were arrested in Loanhead, Midlothian, in connection with another suspected synthetic opioid lab. Official figures indicate that nitazenes were implicated in 76 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2024, more than triple the number from the previous year.