UK’s first drug consumption room to open later this month
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The first safe drug consumption room in the UK will open in Glasgow on January 13, the council has confirmed. The facility will allow drug users to take illegal substances under medical supervision with the hopes they will seek further support to tackle their addiction.
It was hoped the facility could open last year, but final checks to the water and ventilation systems pushed its opening back. Located on Hunter Street in the city’s east end, the facility – known as the Thistle – will operate between 9am and 9pm, 365 days a year.
Councillor Allan Casey, convener for addiction services at Glasgow City Council, said: “We are obviously delighted that the required tests have now concluded and the facility can open on Monday January 13. “We have been pushing for a safer drug consumption facility for some time.
“It’s a welcome relief to know we can finally have people in to access the service and support available within the Thistle. “We know from all the other safer drug consumption rooms in operation across the world that they do make a difference.”.
While the idea of a drugs consumption room was first proposed in 2016 following an HIV outbreak in the city, its development was embroiled in years of political wrangling between the Scottish and UK governments. But in 2023, Scotland’s Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC announced it would not be “in the public interest” to prosecute people using such a facility.
