Scotland could soon be making major moves when it comes to harm reduction and drug use in the country, according to a new statement from the Scottish Lord Advocate.
Right Honourable Dorothy Bain KC replied to a Parliament cross-committee request centered on drug deaths and drug harm, additionally asking for an update on her consideration surrounding a prosecution policy relating to a pilot safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow.
In her statement, the Lord Advocate said, based on the information she’s been provided, “I would be prepared to publish a prosecution policy that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility.”
The Glasgow pilot center, in addition to other co-located services, would collectively offer medical support and assistance to drug users. She noted that she has not been asked to sign off or approve any facility and that it would be inappropriate for her 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,” she said.
The policy would allow for the establishment of the first legal U.K. overdose prevention center, specifically letting people consume controlled substances on-site by applying a legal “diversion scheme.”
The statement does not represent drug legalization or decriminalization, rather acting as “a public instruction to prosecutors of the way in which the public interest considerations relevant to a prosecutorial decision would fall to be applied in a particular context,” which would not be extendable to “any other criminal offenses.”
Bain also noted that Scottish police have “operational independence,” affirming it is “of the utmost importance” to ensure that officers retain the ability to police the facility, along with ensuring that the wider community, those operating the site and those using the facility can be kept safe.
This on-site consumption facility, and others like it, are meant to save lives and prevent overdoses, along with leaving fewer people to use drugs on the street. Many safe injection sites also have other resources, such as clean needles and needle disposal services to prevent the spread of disease, along with on-site counselors and resources for people who use drugs who may want assistance reducing or eliminating their drug use.
The Scottish government has made repeated calls to set up the pilot project in an effort to tackle drug deaths north of the border, where rates are the highest in Europe: a rate of 19.8 drug misuse deaths for every 100,000 people in 2022. The U.K. government has consistently rejected the efforts, with a Home Office spokesperson recently arguing, ““There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities, and we have no plans to consider this.”
Drugs Policy Minister Elena Whitham countered, saying it’s “time to see this approach piloted in Scotland.”
“This is not a silver bullet. But we know from evidence from more than 100 facilities worldwide that safer drug consumption facilities work. It is now time to see this approach piloted in Scotland,” Whitham said.
After Bain shared her statement, First Minister Humza Yousaf said that the pilot safer drugs consumption facility must be taken forward “with urgency,” The Guardian reports.
Scotland ministers have said that, without support from the U.K. government, a drug consumption facility would be “limited,” though Yousaf cited Scotland’s high drug death rate in reference to the need for such a facility.
From here, the Scottish government will work with Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) to move the project forward. Glasgow HSCP will take the plans forward and seek approval from the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board, which directs the local council and health board.
Yousaf similarly nodded to the limitation of the facility, though he argued that “the best approach would still be for the U.K. Government to give approval to that pilot or devolve the power to us so that we can give approval.”
