The UK’s first drug consumption center is set to open in Glasgow

A facility where users can inject drugs under the supervision of nurses is set to open in Glasgow on Monday after nearly a decade of debate over how to deal with the city’s undesirable status as a European capital for drug-related deaths.

It offers hot drinks and a lounge with sofas, in addition to kiosks for injections. The safe drug consumption facility is considered the first of its kind in Britain and follows similar initiatives in other cities around the world. Including New York.

Those using the facility, which has been named ‘The Thistle’ in reference to Scotland’s national emblem, will bring their own drugs. Staff will not be administering injections but will be on hand to monitor safety.

How will the drug consumption room work?

The new facility, which will operate year-round, has a reception and waiting area, a separate space with individual kiosks where injections can be given, a recovery area and an aftercare area where counseling will be provided by charities and support organisations.

Users will have access to clean syringes, needles and swabs, and will be assigned one of eight kiosks.

Users “don’t have to explain to us which medicines they are going to be using,” Lyn McDonald, service manager at Thistle, told Scotland’s public broadcaster, STV. They will be asked to do this, she added, “so we can talk to them about harm reduction.” In the usage area, there will be nurses who will supervise the injections. “

Each booth has a slightly tilted mirror so staff can safely observe the injection process, without getting too close to the person. “It also gives them a bit of dignity,” Ms McDonald said. “That’s the key to this service — that people are treated with respect and dignity when they come here.”

The Scottish Government is funding the initiative by providing two million pounds, or about $2.4 million, annually.

What do the organizers hope to achieve, and why in Glasgow?

There now More than 100 Researchers say drug abuse rooms exist all over the world, including Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia. Supporters say such facilities reduce the risk of overdose and infection, reduce the costs of acute hospitalization, and put users in touch with health care professionals who can provide drug addiction treatment.

In Scotland, which has The highest death rate recorded due to drugs In Europe, thistle is seen as one answer to a long debate about how to combat drug harm. In 2023, 1,172 people died from drug use, an increase of 12% from the previous year.

Opioids such as heroin, morphine and methadone were the most common drugs associated with deaths, implicated in 937 deaths.

In 2015, there was a major HIV outbreak in Glasgow, particularly among those injecting in public. The virus has been linked to homelessness and public injections, according to Glasgow City Council.

Calls for a safe drug consumption facility gained momentum after a 2016 report that estimated Around 400 to 500 people were regularly using drugs in Glasgow city centre, increasing the risk of infection and causing a wider risk to the public from discarded equipment including needles.

The city council said research had shown such facilities reduced drug-related harm, including overdose and death, and transmission of infectious diseases, and achieved “overall cost savings” by reducing calls to the health service and reducing time spent in the community. Police and courts in dealing with drug-related cases.

The Glasgow initiative marks an important, if controversial, moment for British drug policy after years of debate over how to reduce overdoses and keep consumption off the streets. The drug laws covering Scotland are drawn up by the British Parliament at Westminster, but are applied by the Scottish courts, which administer their own system.

The new facility became legally possible after Scotland’s chief barrister, known as the Lord Advocate, He said It would not be in the public interest to prosecute users for possession of illegal drugs in a facility for safe consumption.

The British government said that it respects this decision and will not interfere in the Glasgow project. While it says it will monitor the results of the initiative, it said there are no plans to reintroduce such schemes in England or Wales.

What do the critics say?

Some local residents oppose the opening because they fear it will bring more drug dealing to the area.

Other critics fear this will backfire. One charity, Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, said in: statement That “there is nothing in giving people a place to continue the destructive behaviors that keep them trapped in cycles of chaos, coercion, and despair.”

By focusing on consumption rather than recovery, she added, “these rooms convey a devastating message: We don’t believe you can get better.”

But Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, welcomed the opening, saying in a statement on Friday that “although this facility is not a silver bullet, it is another important step forward and will complement other efforts to reduce harm and deaths.”