An alarming “spike” in super strong synthetic opioid drugs was seen on the streets of Glasgow before Christmas, health bosses have warned.

Nitazene-type opioids, which are stronger than heroin, were linked to 11 deaths in Scotland between July and September last year.

Kelda Gaffney head of adult services, alcohol and drug recovery and mental health, said health officials are concerned about them and are monitoring the situation.

Ms Gaffney said: “Synthetic opioids have not come into Scotland in a big way but we saw a spike before Christmas so we very quickly from a public health perspective pulled together information and advice for people.”

She was responding to a question from Glasgow City Integration Joint board member David Gould asking about the increased presence of synthetic opioids including nitazenes and what is being done to handle the problem.

He asked: “Are we as a city facing a big challenge going forward in terms of synthetic opioids? Are we at the tip of the iceberg?”

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