'They thought I was dead:' The cost of Scotland's drug crisis as deaths rise by 12%
ITV News reporter Barnaby Papadopulos met one man whose cocaine addiction began at the age of 15 - and quickly spun out of control
"Someone found me in a pool of my own blood," John recalls.
"They thought I was dead. And I found out that a member of my family ended up taking a funeral plan out on me because they thought I wasn't going to get the help I needed."
On a beautiful morning in Stranraer, enjoying a day off from work, the 20-year-old seemed a world away from the life which was spiralling out of control just a few years ago. We're using a pseudonym to protect his identity.
He's been clean for over a year, after a habit of taking cocaine recreationally morphed into a six gram a day addiction.
He left school at 16 with "next to no qualifications," and daily life began revolving around the drug - finding it, buying it, taking it, and then trying to find some more.
"Every day, every night, you wouldn't sleep for days," he said. "Just always looking, always chasing it."
Deaths rise by 12% across Scotland - but fall in the south
Figures released on Tuesday show that the number of people in Scotland who died due to drug misuse in 2023 increased by 12% compared to 2022.
Some 1,172 people died last year, 151 more than died the year before that.
In the south of Scotland, however, the picture is one of improvement. A dozen people died in Dumfries and Galloway, compared to 37 in 2022. In the Scottish Borders, 11 people died, two fewer than the total number recorded the year before.
But one organisation which spoke to ITV News Border cautioned against reading too much in to the improved figures for the region.
WithYou, which provides support for people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction across the UK, said referrals for their services had increased by 136% in Dumfries and Galloway over the past ten years.
'Real issues' around deprivation, says policy lead
Graeme Callander, a policy lead for the charity, said: "I think what we do know is that Scotland has real issues in terms of poverty, deprivation and those are some of the key drivers to drug related deaths and harms.
"Also in recent years we've seen contaminated drugs enter the supply in Scotland," he added.
Whilst opioids, such as heroin, remain the biggest cause of deaths, figures related to other drugs, including cocaine, are rising.
The drug was cited in 479 deaths across Scotland in 2023, up from 371 in 2022.
Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said that the level of drug misuse deaths was “hugely concerning".
“We’re taking a wide range of actions through our £250 million National Mission on drugs, including opening a Safer Drug Consumption Facility pilot, working towards the opening of drug-checking facilities and widening access to life-saving naloxone," he said in a statement.
"I believe that National Mission action has led to much being achieved in a short space of time."
After accessing support John is now in work, and clean. He was keen to encourage other people in a similar situation to reach out for help.
"At the time, it doesn't seem like anybody does care," he said. "I have been there.
"Reach out for help before it's too late."
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