Dozens use UK's first drugs consumption room in opening weeks – but 'barriers' still remain

Dozens of people have used the UK’s first safer drugs consumption room in Glasgow in the two weeks after its opening, say operators, but barriers remain to allow smoking drugs – and they warn intense media interest could be putting users at risk.

A total of 60 people used the 365-day-a-year service at The Thistle 239 times in the two weeks after its opening on 13 January, according to figures shared with Big Issue, with those behind the room saying there have been no emergency incidents.

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The vast majority (87%) of supervised injections have been cocaine, with councillor Allan Casey, the city’s convenor for addiction services, saying work is still needed to allow service users to smoke – a safer method of consumption than injection.

“We can’t ignore that, and not having a space to do that is potentially putting people off using the service because they’re having to go elsewhere and smoke. It’s something we seriously need to consider retrofitting,” said Casey. “The smoking laws would potentially need amending.”

He added that data from the service would allow the argument to be made in Holyrood: “Nobody has said no to this yet, nobody has said yes to it, we’re just at the stage of making the case.”

Scotland has the highest number of drug deaths per capita in Europe, with the drugs consumption room beginning a three-year pilot to try and change the tide.

The landmark drugs consumption room had been years in the making, with a 2023 intervention from Scotland’s Lord Advocate opening the door by effectively allowing police to turn a blind eye to drug possession on The Thistle’s premises. Its budget stands at £2.3m per year, but its champions believe it will save money by reducing costs to other services and ultimately saving lives.

Councillor Casey also warned the presence of news cameras outside the building was putting users at risk. “What that does is make a huge risk for them. If they can’t use the service barrier free, they’re potentially choosing to inject in really dangerous spaces,” Casey said.

“I fully support freedom of the press,” Casey added. “But when folk are there and people are trying to take photos and videos, it does have a negative effect on people using the service.”

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