Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy

The Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet but reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Scotland) who does.

The incumbent Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy is Christina McKelvie, who was appointed in February 2024.

History
The office was created in December 2020 by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon following the resignation of Minister for Public Health, Joe FitzPatrick. His resignation was triggered by the figures released that showed Scotland again had the worst drug death rate in Europe. Sturgeon stated that her government had taken their "eye off the ball on drug deaths" and appointed Angela Constance to take on the new dedicated role as Minister for Drugs Policy.

Following the 2023 SNP leadership election, incumbent First Minister Humza Yousaf appointed Elena Whitham as the renamed Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy. On 7 February 2024, Whitham announced she resigning from the post due to her suffering from PTSD. The following day, as part of a wider cabinet reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of Health Secretary, Michael Matheson, Yousaf appointed Christina McKelvie to the post.

Responsibilities
The specific responsibilities of the minister are: The responsibilities of the new Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy within the Yousaf government are still to be announced.
 * Tackling and reducing the harm of drug misuse
 * Supporting the rehabilitation and recovery of those living with drug addiction
 * Reducing the number of deaths from drugs

List of office holders
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 0 0 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; "
 * colspan="7"|

Minister for Drugs Policy
! colspan="2" |Name !Portrait !Assumed office !Left office !Party !First Minister
 * Angela Constance
 * Official portrait of justice secretary Angela Constance (cropped 1).jpg
 * 18 December 2020
 * 29 March 2023
 * Scottish National Party
 * Nicola Sturgeon
 * colspan="7" |
 * Nicola Sturgeon
 * colspan="7" |
 * colspan="7" |

Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy
John Swinney
 * Elena Whitham
 * Official 2023 government portrait of Elena Whitham.jpg
 * 29 March 2023
 * 7 February 2024
 * Scottish National Party
 * Humza Yousaf
 * Christina McKelvie
 * Christina McKelvie MSP.jpg
 * 8 February 2024
 * Incumbent
 * Scottish National Party
 * Humza Yousaf
 * 8 February 2024
 * Incumbent
 * Scottish National Party
 * Humza Yousaf
 * }