Nearly two dozen drug-related deaths in Dudley last year

The total number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales has reached a record high.

The UK Addiction Treatment Group described the figures as a “travesty” and warned the country was on the brink of a drugs crisis.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show 20 drug-related deaths were recorded in Dudley in 2023 – up from 13 in 2022.

There were 295 drug-related deaths in the West Midlands in 2023 – an increase on 207 in 2022 and more than in any single year since 1993, when records began.

The figures include deaths related to poisoning and drug abuse, both from controlled and uncontrolled drugs.

In both countries, 5,448 deaths were recorded in 2023 – an increase of 11 percent from the previous year and the highest since records began in 1993.

Since 2012, recorded drug deaths have increased every year across the country.

The ONS said that due to delays, more than half of the deaths reported in its latest data for 2023 had happened in previous years.

Greg Ceely, head of population health surveillance at the ONS, said: “Around half of deaths involve opioids such as heroin or morphine. We have seen a sharp increase in the number of cocaine deaths, accounting for a fifth of all deaths related to drug poisoning in 2023.”

The figures show the North East had the highest rate of drug deaths in 2021-2023, at 15.7 per 100,000 people. London had the lowest rate at 5.5 per 100,000.

In the West Midlands it was 7.8 per 100,000.

Lee Fernandes, a drug treatment expert at UKATG, called the rise “a travesty”.

He called on the government to “stick its head out of the sand and recognize that we are on the edge of a cliff.”

Mr Fernandes also stressed the need to recognize the “clear North-South divide”.

“When it comes to drug deaths, people’s lives shouldn’t depend on a postcode lottery,” he added.

Clare Taylor, chief operating officer of drug treatment provider Turning Point, said synthetic opioids – which are made in labs and are hundreds of times more powerful than heroin – were “increasingly being detected in the drug supply, which is particularly concerning and puts many more people at risk.” Risk of accidental overdose.”

In 2023, 52 deaths related to nitazenes – synthetic opioids – were recorded, compared to 38 the previous year.

She called for greater availability of services that can check medications for purity and impurities, as well as greater availability of the opioid overdose drug naloxone.

The ONS said around half of deaths last year were due to opiates such as heroin or morphine, while cocaine deaths have doubled since 2011 and accounted for a fifth of all deaths in 2023.

Ms Taylor said the rise in cocaine-related deaths was “alarming”, adding: “It is vital that services provide advice and support to individuals.”

Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, said: “The number of drug-related deaths is tragically at a record high.”

“Through our mission-driven Government, we will work with partners across health, policing and wider public services to tackle drug use and build a fairer Britain for all.”