UK’s first safer drugs consumption room opening in Glasgow

The UK’s first safer drugs consumption room opens its doors in Glasgow on Monday.

The Thistle Centre will provide a space where drug users can take illegal substances such as heroin and cocaine under medical supervision in a clean and hygienic environment.

The Scottish Government hopes those who attend the pilot facility can be encouraged to seek support to overcome their addiction.

Staff will also be able to assist anyone who suffers an overdose.

Scotland continues to have the worst rate of drug deaths in Europe, with the latest figures showing 1,172 people died from drug misuse in 2023 – a rise of 12% on the previous year.

With Glasgow one of the worst affected areas, groups in the city have campaigned for years for a safe consumption facility to be established.

The centre was finally established after Scotland’s top prosecutor, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, made clear prosecuting users of such a facility for possession of drugs would not be in the public interest.

From Monday, the centre, in Hunter Street in the east end, will be open to users from 9am to 9pm, 365 days a year.

The centre will be supported with £2 million of Scottish Government cash each year.

Speaking during a tour of the facility last week First Minister John Swinney said: “I hope it will help us to reduce drugs deaths in Scotland and to help people to find a different route in their lives.

“We will evaluate the effectiveness of this particular intervention to determine what progress is achieved as a consequence of it, what impact it has had, and to learn the lessons from it.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I hope that this will be another tool in our box in reducing the harm and reducing the level of drug-related deaths that we see in Scotland, and that the pilot will be successful.

“Critically I want this to be a facility that is well used. I want there to be a confidence in the community about coming here.”

Organisers supporting drug users have welcomed the facility.

Ronnie Hart, from Paisley, used substances for more than 30 years before going into residential rehabilitation. He is now a recovery worker with drug and alcohol charity WithYou.

He said: “I was able to visit The Thistle last week and I was very impressed by the work that has gone into creating a warm and welcoming environment.

“It is a really nice service that will draw in people who would otherwise be using in lanes and car parks, giving them access to medical interventions and showing them that they are valued members of our society.

“People who use drugs in a harmful way often have very chaotic lives. Even if they want to make a change, they do not know where to start.

“The Thistle will be a really important tool for reaching people in Glasgow who really do need support, and sharing advice on how to be as safe and healthy as possible. For me, that’s a no brainer.”

Graeme Callander, policy lead at WithYou, added: “Often, a person will attend a WithYou service because, for example, they want to collect fresh injecting equipment.

“They will be absolutely resolute that they don’t want any other help but, over time, relationships begin to form with our support workers. Soon, that person might ask about other treatment options or recovery groups.

“The safer consumption facility can work in the same way. As well as enabling people who use drugs to do so under the supervision of trained medical staff, it will provide a unique and vitally important opportunity for specialists to build relationships with people who can really benefit from support.

“That engagement will be pivotal to the overall impact of The Thistle.”

Councillor Allan Casey, convener for addiction services at Glasgow City Council, said the centre is an “important first step” in addressing the harm related to drug addiction.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “I think it’s fair to say that this is not going to be a silver bullet.

“It’s not going to change the drug-related deaths statistics overnight, but it’s a massive leap forward in how we tackle the problem and how we, I suppose, support people who are furthest away from the services that we deliver.

“So I think what we do need is potentially a network of drug consumption facilities.

“Obviously, Glasgow now has the first one in the UK. We need to demonstrate that it works, and actually we can try and make and prove the case that we need more of them, and we need more services, just more generally speaking, but not just in Glasgow – across Scotland, and indeed across the UK as well.”