Scotland's first drug checking facility opens its doors
The service has opened on the same street as Glasgow’s drug consumption room
Scotland’s first drug checking service has opened its doors in Glasgow.
Drug users will be able to take the substances they are planning on taking to this new facility, where the drugs will be checked for any contaminants. The strength of the substance can also be analysed.
It is hoped the move will reduce the harm caused by illicit substances and allow authorities to get a better understanding of the scale of synthetic opioids such as nitazenes.
Those who go to this new service, which will be on Hunter Street near the city’s drug consumption room, will also receive advice and information about how to keep themselves safe.
Drugs Minister Maree Todd said: “[This] will provide vital information on the risks of emerging substances and help people make safer decisions and reduce drug harms.
“Scotland’s illegal drug supply is increasingly unpredictable, including the presence of highly potent synthetic opioids such as nitazenes in a range of substances.
“This makes faster identification of emerging drug trends more important than ever.
“We have already worked with Glasgow partners to open the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility, which is undoubtedly saving lives. This service will complement that vital harm-reduction work.
“We must improve the early identification of emerging risks and I look forward to other sites opening and to the national laboratory providing potentially life-saving research and updates.”
Samples from this new drug checking facility will be sent to a new national testing laboratory, which is based in Dundee University.
Further services are due to open in the coming months in Aberdeen and Dundee. A new site in Edinburgh is also currently being explored.
The service will be restricted to over 18s who are dependent on illicit drugs, as per the UK Home Office’s licensing agreement. The Scottish Government says this means the new service is “not intended as a general testing service for recreational drug use”.
The move has been criticised by opposition parties in Holyrood, who say the Scottish Government, saying ministers are “hellbent on ignoring experts”.
Miles Briggs MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman, said: “SNP ministers continue to live on a different planet when it comes to tackling Scotland’s drug deaths crisis.
“Their failures have resulted in us having Europe’s worst drug deaths rate but now they see no issue with effectively giving the green light to the sale of illegal drugs.
“John Swinney seems hellbent on ignoring experts by pushing his so-called harm reduction policies rather than getting those struggling with addiction the help they need.
“Opening drug checking services and calling for drug decriminalisation is utterly reckless and signals the SNP have effectively waved a white flag in Scotland’s war on drugs.
“They should ditch their failing agenda and finally back Scottish Conservative plans to invest in recovery and rehab facilities.”
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