The Cross

Work to Set Up a drug consumption room in Glasgow could start within weeks after prosecution guidance was updated.

The country's chief law officer said it would not be in The Public interest to prosecute users of such facilities for simple possession offences.

The Move could help pave The Way for such facilities to be established despite opposition from Westminster.

Drugs Minister Elena Whitham said it was a " significant moment" in The Mission to tackle drug deaths.

The Minister has been examining plans for a pilot project developed by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and Police Scotland , facilitated by the Scottish Government .

Those plans could now be presented for approval to the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board - which brings together council and health officials - at its next meeting on September 27.

Drugs law is reserved to the UK government But Scotland has some leeway in setting its own prosecution rules.

Ms Whitham stressed that The Prosecution update did not amount to a change in The Law .

She told told BBC Radio's: " " I think we need to be clear that somebody going to and from such a facility is Still Going to be subjected to all of the laws that everybody else is subjected to.

" What this does do is allow us to help and support those individuals who are at The Most risk of drug deaths in Scotland - People who are injecting in dirty alleyways At Risk of transmitting HIV and other bloodborne viruses. "

She predicted the UK government " probably won't" challenge The Move following recommendations from the UK Home Affairs Committee that Westminster consent to a pilot in Scotland .

" I would urge them to work With Us on this pilot because it will save lives, " the drugs and alcohol policy minister said.

Ms Whitham said she would like to see the facilities rolled out across the country if The Pilot is successful, and that she would " absolutely not" cut funding for other drug recovery services to launch the drug recovery room pilot.

Earlier, Scottish Conservatives MSP Miles Briggs told the programme he welcomed The Lord Advocate's intervention on recovery rooms and said he did not expect the UK government to object.

Mr Briggs, who sits on The Cross party group for drug and Alcohol Misuse , said: " This is part of A Jigsaw But we need to see far more taking place in Scotland to address this. "

He Said it must take an " evidence-based approach" and called for additional measures, such as more drug rehab beds than the 418 currently available.

Mr Briggs said: " This is part of A Jigsaw But we need to see far more taking place in Scotland to address this. "

On Monday Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said she would Be Prepared to publish such a policy, if she was asked to do so.

In a statement she added: " It does not amount to an exclusion zone whereby a range of criminality is tolerated. "

The Number of People who died due to Drug Misuse in Scotland Last Year fell by 279 to the lowest level for five years. However, the country still has the worst drug death rate in the UK and the rest of Europe.

According to studies drug consumption rooms - facilities where People Can inject drugs under Supervision - Can reduce overdose deaths, public injecting and drug-related litter, while a range of bodies and health experts have backed previous Scottish proposals.

The Home Affairs Committee at Westminster recently recommended that the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) be amended to allow a pilot project to run in Scotland . But The Call was swiftly rejected by the Home Office .

On Monday a spokeswoman said: " 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 . "

Campaigner Peter Krykant Set Up an unofficial pilot of a drugs consumption room in Glasgow in September 2020.

Initially police took a relaxed approach - But after two months he was arrested, accused of obstructing officers who wanted to conduct a search.

The case did not come to court because The Crown dropped the charges, and The Van continued to operate for a full Year .

later concluded that 894 supervised injections had taken place and there had been nine successful interventions involving an overdose.

First Minister Humza Yousaf urged the UK government to look at the " really strong evidence base" for piloting a safer drugs consumption facility.

He told Bbc Scotland News: " It's not a Silver Bullet , it's one tool that we Can use to help us deal with the drugs death issues that we have here in Scotland . "

Police Scotland 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.

Shortly after Dorothy Bain's appointment as Lord Advocate in 2021, she announced that People caught with Class A drugs such as heroin for personal use in Scotland could be dealt with by means of a police warning rather than prosecution.

Source of news: bbc.com