Scotland’s top law officer has opened the way to the creation of the UK’s first drug consumption facility, after she said it would not be in public interest to prosecute people using it to take illegal substances.
The decision by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC means that a long-awaited pilot project of a drug consumption room could now go ahead in Glasgow, despite the UK Government being opposed to it.
Such a facility would allow people addicted to drugs, including heroin, to inject themselves under supervision in a controlled environment, with the aim of reducing the risk of overdoses and deaths.
The Scottish Government has long been in favour of such a trial, but the UK Government is not in favour of it and has refused to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or devolve the relevant powers to Holyrood.
However, in a statement issued on Monday, Ms Bain said she would be willing to publish a prosecution policy which stated “it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility”.
She added: “I have not been asked to sign-off or approve any facility and it would not be appropriate for me to do so.
“However, prosecution policy is for me alone to set and this policy, and the consequences which flow from it, have been considered deeply and thoroughly.
“The requested statement will not extend to any criminal offences other than possession of controlled substances, contrary to section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
“It does not amount to an exclusion zone whereby a range of criminality is tolerated.
“Police Scotland have operational independence and it has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure that Police Scotland retain the ability to effectively police the facility and ensure that the wider community, those operating the site and those using the facility can be kept safe.”
Figures published last month showed that 1,051 people died of drug misuse in Scotland in 2022, the second year in a row that the toll has fallen after a series of record highs.
However, the nation’s drug death rate is still the highest in Europe and the number of people dying is still more than three times the level it was at 20 years ago.
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said the force was “committed to working in partnership to reduce the harm associated with problematic substance use and addiction”.
He added: “Our approach to any initiative aimed at tackling these harms will be to establish how best policing can support it within the confines of the law.
“It is important to note that existing legislation will not be changing and, while we may take an overall supportive policing approach, police officers will still be bound by their legal duty to uphold the law and will not be able to simply ignore acts of criminality which they see occurring.”
Scotland’s drugs and alcohol policy minister Elena Whitham welcomed the move.
“Glasgow authorities may now progress their proposal to set up a facility which can operate within the existing legal framework,” she added.
“While the service would still be limited to some extent, due to the reserved Misuse of Drugs Act, we are confident it would save lives.”
The decision by Ms Bain comes less than a fortnight after Westminster’s Home Affairs Committee said that a pilot in Glasgow should be allowed to go ahead, with a view to rolling out the model across the UK.
At the time, a Home Office spokeswoman said it had “no plans” to create drug consumption rooms in the UK, arguing there was “no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities”.
“Our 10-year drugs strategy set out ambitious plans, backed with a record £3bn funding over three years to tackle the supply of illicit drugs through relentless policing action and building a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people’s lives around and prevent crime,” she added.
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