"...to try and forget the pain that they are facing through their personal lives"

After doing some research and many discussions within our group, we realised that mental health and suicide was the path that we would take to concentrate on. Scotland has one of the highest suicide rates and has the highest drug rate in the whole of Europe. In Dundee alone the drug rate has increased drastically since 2016 and has now reached a crisis point in trying to tackle this problem. In 2016 there were 38 people who had died of drug related deaths. 2018 the death toll reached 78 whether it be illicit or illicitly obtained. There were 53 overdoses in Dundee alone in 2018.

On average there are at least 2 people on the Tay Road bridge each week, these individuals are then taken to either Ninewells hospital or Carseview to be assessed and most of the time they are discharged without any follow ups.  Although the drug rate is high in Dundee I do strongly believe that with mental health services stretched to the limit people are turning to self-medicate to try and forget the pain that they are facing through their personal lives. GP’s are handing Opioids out to patients for chronic pain sufferers, and although they may need this they are not monitoring their patients on these drugs which then can turn into an addiction. Heroine, valium and other drugs are easily accessible on the streets. Gang members and drug dealers are now seeking out young people to sell their drugs and are offering money for this. They are preying on the vulnerable and exploiting them.

The Dundee drug commission have just released their findings on the drug rate in Dundee and are calling for urgent changes, more understanding for people with drug addictions and also how to better improve mental health services across the city. This city has a public health crisis in relation to drug deaths just now and things drastically need to change. We as a city need to come together to try and help the people of Dundee. In the last decade there has been over 400 deaths in relation to drug deaths in the city, one every week from 2018- present.