FOR FOUR days David Rowat lay dying in his flat in East Kilbride. “Every rock bottom(最低点，谷底) is a trap door(活板门，陷阱门),” says the former heroin addict. “You need to be in the darkest, lowest place to want change.” When his daughter discovered him in 2021, only a few hours of oxygen remained in his blood.(当他的女儿在2021年发现他时，他血液中的氧气只剩下几个小时了。)
大卫·罗瓦特在东基尔布赖德的公寓里躺了四天，奄奄一息。“每一个谷底都是一扇活板门，”这位前海洛因成瘾者说。“你必须处在最黑暗、最低谷的地方才会想要改变。”2021年，当他的女儿发现他时，他血液中的氧气只剩下几个小时了。
Five years ago Scotland sought(试图，寻求（seek的过去式）) to end its reputation as the drug-death capital of Europe (see chart). Yet after spending an extra £250m ($336m), it wears that crown for the seventh year in a row(连续地). And although its 1,017 drug-misuse deaths in 2024 was the lowest tally(总数，记录) since 2017, last year the number rose again, by about 8%.
五年前，苏格兰试图摆脱其作为欧洲毒品死亡之都的名声（见图表）。然而，在额外花费2.5亿英镑（3.36亿美元）之后，它连续第七年戴上了这顶桂冠。尽管2024年其1017例药物滥用死亡是自2017年以来的最低数字，但去年这一数字再次上升，约8%。
Some critics think Scotland puts too much weight on(过于重视) “harm reduction(减少伤害)”—managing rather than curing addicts. “We have built a system that is very good at keeping people alive inside addiction, but not nearly good enough at helping them leave it,” argues Annemarie Ward of Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, a charity. But harm reduction remains essential. Police carry naloxone(纳洛酮（阿片类药物拮抗剂）) to prevent overdoses in the street. Last year Glasgow opened Britain’s first drug-consumption room(毒品消费室) (DCR) for a three-year pilot: addicts can take drugs under medical supervision. It has prevented about 200 overdose deaths. Patients can also get blood tests, hot showers and referrals(转介，转诊) to health and other services.
一些批评者认为苏格兰过于重视“减少伤害”——管理瘾君子而不是治愈他们。“我们建立了一个非常擅长让人们在成瘾中活着的系统，但在帮助他们离开成瘾方面却不够好，”慈善机构“英国康复之声”的安妮玛丽·沃德认为。但减少伤害仍然至关重要。警方携带纳洛酮以防止街头过量用药。去年，格拉斯哥开设了英国首个毒品消费室（DCR），进行为期三年的试点：瘾君子可以在医疗监督下吸毒。它已防止了约200例过量死亡。患者还可以获得血液检查、热水淋浴以及转介至健康和其他服务。