Today, the Scottish Affairs Committee launches an inquiry
examining the pilot Safer Drug Consumption Facility
(SDCF) which opens in Glasgow's East End today.
The facility, on Hunter Street, is the UK's first official
consumption room for illegal drugs. Known as ‘the Thistle,' the
facility will enable people to consume illegal drugs under
medical supervision.
By doing so, the facility aims to reduce overdoses and associated
public disorder, whilst also offering health reduction services
to people who do not receive other health and social
supports.
The inquiry will focus specifically on the legal and policy
challenges faced in setting up and running the facility, its
current legal position and the challenges this presents, as well
as the facility's effectiveness in reducing drug-related deaths
in Scotland.
The inquiry will consider what legal changes at UK level might be
necessary to enable the facility to operate sustainably beyond
its three-year pilot.
The inquiry will also follow up on relevant aspects of the
Scottish Affairs Committee's previous work on this issue
in the 2017-19 Parliament.
Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, MP,
said:
"Scotland has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe, and
Glasgow is at the centre of this crisis. It's vital that things
change and that both Governments work together to tackle problem
drug use and stop people dying.
“In 2019, a predecessor Scottish Affairs Committee recommended
that the UK Government should support a pilot drug consumption
room like this in Glasgow. Since then, policy and legal
developments have made the facility a reality.
“This new inquiry is an important opportunity for us to look
closely at how the facility reduces the harm caused by problem
drug use, and what legal changes might be needed if the facility
is to be made permanent.”
Terms of reference
The Committee welcomes written submissions on some or all of the
following points by 13th February
2025:
1. Why is a pilot Safer Drugs Consumption Facility (SDCF) being
opened in Glasgow, and how is it intended to reduce harm from
problem drug use in the area?
- What were the key legal, policy and political barriers to
opening the pilot facility?
- How can the medical effectiveness or impacts of the pilot
facility be measured, and what does ‘success' look like?
- What lessons can be learned from international contexts, when
considering the medical effectiveness of the facility?
2. What is the current legal position of the SDCF in
Glasgow?
- Is the SDCF's current legal position sustainable to enable
the effective operation of the facility in the
long-term?
- How would the Lord Advocate's decision that it would “not be
in the public interest” to prosecute users or facilitators of
Glasgow's SDCF operate in practice?
- What issues could be presented by the facility's current
legal position, including in respect of civil
liability?
- What implications does the facility have for local
policing?
3. What does a long-term, sustainable legal framework for a SDCF
look like?
- What legal and/or policy changes would be required from the
UK Government to implement such a model?
- What lessons can be learned from international contexts, when
considering a sustainable legal model for a SDCF
/ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The control of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is
reserved to the UK Government. However, key matters relevant to
the handling of drugs and treatment of problem drug use are
devolved.
- In 2019, the former Scottish Affairs Committee published a report into
problem drug use in Scotland. A section of this report examines
the case for a SDCF to reduce harm caused by drug
use.
-
- It concluded that the UK Government should support a
pilot facility in Glasgow, and made recommendations that any
necessary legislation should be brought forward to allow such
a pilot. The Government at the time rejected this
recommendation.
