Young people accessing support or treatment for alcohol and drugs: standards - November 2025

2. Context

Since 2020, 304 young people aged under 25 sadly lost their lives due to drug-related causes.^[4] Whilst we have seen an overall decrease in the drug deaths in that age group over the last few years (80 deaths in 2020, 70 in 2021, 62 in 2022, 58 in 2023 and 34 in 2024), the number of deaths remains unacceptably high.

Identifying and supporting young people at risk provides an invaluable opportunity to intervene early and prevent more serious harms later in life.

A comprehensive system of prevention and early intervention is essential if we are to continue to reduce drug harms amongst young people facing challenges now and to prevent later harms.

The Drugs Deaths Taskforce (DDTF) Changing Lives, final report,^[5] acknowledged that specific pathways into and through treatment for young people were not in place across all areas of Scotland. Action 30 recommended that, ‘ADPs and services must ensure specific pathways are developed to ensure young people can access the support they need when they need it’. These Standards will support local areas to achieve this.

Existing Standards and Guidance

The Standards contained in this report are not intended to supersede or replace existing Standards. Rather, they identify the specific needs of young people who use substances and set out best practice on how these should be met.

All existing standards and guidance which seeks to support people experiencing drug and alcohol use harms should also be available for young people, whilst being adapted to their age, stage and reflective of the evidence base. This includes the Medication-Assisted Standards.^[6]