The rising tide of deaths and legal high use will see police in Tayside dedicate additional resources to tackling drugs.
Over the next 12 months it will become one of a number of the key “priorities”, alongside violence, road safety and anti-social behaviour.
That will see additional resources dedicated to the problem in communities across the region and both short and long-term operations instigated.
Specialist officers could also be brought in from other force areas to strengthen the effort as it progresses.
Police Scotland will target the dealers putting heroin, cocaine and cannabis on the streets, but the operations will also look to address problems surrounding legal highs.
The work will be carried out in Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross in the wake of a three-month consultation.
More than 3,500 members of the public and local agencies were canvassed, with the vast majority identifying drug dealing and misuse as one of their main concerns.
Superintendent Angela McLaren said the force would be dedicating significant resources to battling drugs misuse in Tayside, but stressed that enforcement would not be the effort’s only focus.
She said prevention and education would continue to be key elements of the police approach to drugs as enforcement alone would not deal with the problem.
Superintendent McLaren stressed that working with community partners to find “long-term” solutions to drug misuse would prove vital.
One such method will be referring repeat offenders to the Tayside Intensive Support Service.