As safer drugs consumption centre opens it’s time to go further

Today, at last, the UK’s first drug consumption room opens in Glasgow. As everyone involved is at pains to point out this is not a silver bullet to Scotland’s drugs problem. It is one part of a solution. But a part that until now has been hindered by out-of-date laws and political opposition.

It shouldn’t have taken this long. Since 2016 the city council has been petitioning the Home Office for permission for this project. It has been consistently refused. Three years ago, the focus shifted to getting Scottish prosecutors to effectively agree to turn a blind eye to the technical breaches of the law required to operate the facility. And once that opinion was confirmed it took a further campaign to get the UK government to agree that it would not intervene if the Scottish government gave the go-ahead.

And now it is open. The centre is being run as a three-year pilot but if successful I predict it will not only become permanent but lead to many more similar facilities across Scotland and the rest of Britain.

We know having a safe place to take your drugs means that fewer people will die as a result. That is the universal experience of every country where this has been tried. Five years ago, I saw this first hand in Germany and Portugal as part of a parliamentary enquiry into how other countries deal with drug problems.

The centre opens with a welcome drop in the level of criticism based on uninformed prejudice which can often accompany this debate. Yet still, there are those who try to suggest the money is misplaced and ought to be diverted into rehabilitation. This is the falsest of dichotomies. We need both. And in truth, safe injecting spaces can help get users into rehab.

Although the figure is coming down the number of drug deaths in Scotland remains terrifying high. Nearly one hundred people lose their lives each month. Few, if any, of these deaths are intentional. This is not suicide. These deaths are entirely preventable.

Most are the result of people not knowing exactly what they are taking, or the effect it might have on top of other drugs or conditions. Most people die alone, behind closed doors. By the time they realise there is a problem it is too late to call for help.

Safe injection facilities where people can consume their own drugs hygienically and with help on hand won’t stop people accidentally taking a bad dose. But it will mean that if they find themselves suffering cardiac arrest or other problems as a result they can be treated there and then.

Centres like the new one in Glasgow have multi-disciplinary teams with not only medical staff but also access to advice and help on housing, employment and finance.  And there are people to talk too, many of whom will have experience of using, about how to get off for good if that is what you want.

But the importance of the supervised facility is to stop people dying at the point of use. To keep them alive long enough to stabilise the chaos in their lives so that stopping becomes an option. Too many people die before they can get the option of rehab. Which is why the Tory attempt to pit one approach against another is so despicable.

I wish the Glasgow venture well, but it is only one step on a longer journey. We need now to press with renewed vigour for changes the law. The law in question – the Misuse of Drugs Act 1969 –  is entirely reserved to Westminster and has not been reviewed for 55 years, even though the scale and nature of the problem it seeks to tackle has changed beyond recognition in that time.

The biggest single reason why there are social problems from drug use is that the current law places the entire supply, distribution and sale of them in the hands of criminals. There are probably still people who believe that prohibition prevents those who might want to try drugs from doing so. They are deluded. There is not a town in Scotland where you cannot get whatever drugs you might want. In most places you can order online and have them delivered.

Even with a regular and trusted supplier you have really no idea what you are buying. Trading standards do not apply. So, there is an element of taking your life in your hands.

But the main problem with prohibition is that it criminalises the users too. Creating an underworld beyond the reach of the law and health service where people are unwilling to ask for help because of social stigma and the real threat of arrest and imprisonment.

That is why decriminalisation of all drug use is essential if we are to effectively help those who develop addiction and other problems as a result of using. Many countries are now moving in this direction.

Doing so in Scotland ought to be the responsibility of our elected parliament. Which is why the whole area should be devolved so that the classification and regulation of drugs can be done by the same institutions who have to clear up the mess when it doesn’t work.