The people’s panel, made up of 25 people from across Scotland who are broadly representative of the Scottish population, will work together to scrutinise the issue. The final report will help inform the cross-committee scrutiny of matters related to reducing drug deaths and tackling problem drug use by the Criminal Justice Committee, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

Last month, 5,000 invitation letters were sent to residential households across Scotland, selected at random from the Royal Mail’s address database. Twenty-five people were then chosen to form the panel.

The people’s panel will meet over two weekends – on October 25-27 and November 15-17 – where they will hear testimony from those with ‘lived experience’ of the issue, from academics and researchers, and from stakeholders who work in this area.

Organisations the panel shall hear from include Community Justice Scotland, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and the Scottish Drugs Forum.

The panel will deliberate on the evidence they gather before a final report is produced which will identify what they see as the key issues and provide recommendations for action to tackle these issues.

Audrey Nicoll, convener of the Criminal Justice Committee, said: “The issue of how to tackle drug deaths and drug related harms is one of great and urgent national importance. This people’s panel can offer a fresh perspective on this issue.

“It is vital that the Scottish Parliament is proactive in involving the people of Scotland in its work. This is a unique opportunity for MSPs on our Committees to hear grassroots views which can help in holding the government to account.”

Clare Haughey, convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, added: “The number of drug related deaths and the impact of drug related harms has been a cause for concern for many years.

“It is an issue which deserves national attention and that’s why it’s so important a range of views from across Scotland are heard.

“Holding a people’s panel on this topic is an opportunity for a broad section of Scotland’s society to shape political discourse, to consider this matter in detail and to make recommendations which can help tackle this issue.”

Collette Stevenson, convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, commented: “The findings of the people’s panel report will be vital in informing our cross-Committee scrutiny of this issue.

“We know that drug related deaths and the myriad harms of drug use cause pain and distress to people and families across Scotland. Our committees look forward to engaging with the panel and hearing their recommendations on what more they feel can and should be done to tackle this issue.”