Expanding safe consumption rooms would save lives
The expansion of safe consumption rooms across Scotland's cities must happen if we want to build on progress in reducing drug deaths, say the Scottish Greens.
Ahead of today's Ministerial statement on Drug-Related Deaths in Scotland in 2024 today at Holyrood, Green MSP Maggie Chapman is calling for the Scottish Government to offer more support and further expansion of safe consumption rooms, like The Thistle in Glasgow, across other towns and cities.
Statistics published this week showed that Scotland had the highest drug death rate in Europe for the seventh year in a row, despite a 13% drop in recorded deaths since last year.
Maggie said:
“It would be naive to believe that safe consumption rooms alone will solve Scotland's drug death crisis. We know that these spaces are not a silver bullet, but they are an important step forward in how we treat people with addictions and help them towards recovery.
“The Thistle in Glasgow has proven in a short period of time that these spaces work. By expanding these facilities across Scotland, we can improve our harm reduction efforts and give people struggling with addiction a safe space to also access immediate medical help, information and support towards recovery.
“There are people alive today who would not be without this type of intervention. For those who have lost family or friends to drug deaths, their loved ones were more than a statistic. They know the pain and anguish of that unnecessary loss, and that no one should have to go through it.
“That is why I am calling on the Scottish Government to expand safe consumption rooms, and provide more support for alcohol and drug recovery programmes. I want us to change the story of our country from one that punishes addiction to one that offers compassion to change.”