Inside the UK’s first legal drug consumption room in Glasgow

Scotland’s drug death crisis is not going away.

The number of fatal overdoses steadily rose throughout the 2010s until a record high of 1,339 in 2020.

Since then, the numbers have stabilised but remained stubbornly high.

While England and Wales saw record overdose deaths in 2023, the death rate in Scotland for the same year was more than double.

In 2021, the Scottish government declared its “national mission” to tackle drug deaths, with £250m funding over five years.

This led to a widespread rollout of the overdose prevention drug naloxone, a focus on improving addiction treatment standards and pledges to increase places in residential rehabilitation facilities.

Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray has welcomed the centre’s opening.

He said: “It’s absolutely rooted in the centre of the national mission about reducing harm.

“It is about making sure people are able to, in a stigma free way, access services and support. Because it’s not just about the safer consumption element.

“It’s also about the wraparound and holistic interventions that are available as part of that.”

The UK government said it had “no plans to introduce consumption rooms”.

It added: “We will also continue to take preventative public health measures to tackle the biggest killers in our society, including drug misuse, and better support people to live longer, healthier lives.”

A spokesperson said the UK government “will not interfere with the independence of the Lord Advocate with respect to the pilot drug consumption room in Glasgow”.