Hospital admissions for drug related stays have rocketed in Glasgow over the last decade.
Latest figures show that the rate of hospitalisation for drug related illnesses show that in the city it has almost doubled since 2012.
The total number of admissions in Glasgow for any drug type was 2073 in the last available year.
It is an increase from 1059 admissions in 2012/13, with a steady rise in all but one year since.
There has been a significant increase across all age groups from 15 to 65 with the 35 to 44 year-olds aged group the most affected.
Cocaine showed the steepest rise in the city with a trebling in the number of people taken to hospital after taking the drug.
In 2019/20 there were 330 hospital admissions for cocaine an increase of 323% from 78 in 2012/13.
The hospital admissions figures correspond to the rising total of drug related deaths in Glasgow and across Scotland to record levels and the worst in Western Europe.
The latest report showed, in Scotland, drug related deaths increased yet again to 1264 for the year 2019. It is a rise from 527 in 2013.
In Glasgow the rise in deaths was from 103 in 2013 to 279 in 2019.
Opposition parties have said that a lack of action over the last decade has led to a problem that will last for many more years.
Annie Wells Glasgow MSP and Conservative health spokeswoman, said: “This is the cost of Nicola Sturgeon ‘taking her eye off the ball’, as she glibly put it.
“The number of drug-related hospital stays continues to rise and we already know from experts that the number of drug deaths is, tragically, likely to increase too.
“Long-term trends reveal an appalling record of failure.
“ If you live in a more deprived area, you are far more likely to end up in hospital from drugs.
“It’s time the SNP Government started listening to those on the frontline and agreed to Scottish Conservative demands for a Right to Recovery, to enshrine in law that people can access the treatment they need to get better.”
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson said: “It took too long for the Scottish Government to step up and see the deadly reality of Scotland’s drugs deaths crisis. Pathways for support were shut down.
"People and families have been scarred by these problems and drained by their attempts to seek help at depleted local facilities. There will be a legacy of harm for years to come.”
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