After 10 years of contesting policy and drug laws, Dorthy Bain, the Scottish Lord Advocate, announced a policy change that enabled the implementation of a new facility – the Thistle.
The Thistle opened on Monday last week and aims to provide a supervised space for injecting drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The facility consists of eight injecting booths, a medical consultation room, and a recovery space, as well as showers, washing machines, a kitchen, and a clothing bank. The project is based on over 100 similar ones globally, with contributions from the lived experience team on how to be most approachable.
Open to anyone, the Thistle’s only requirement is to register before using the facility. Qualified healthcare workers support users by providing sterile and safe needles and syringes to inject, as well as intervening when there is a risk of overdosing. Whilst access to support services to improve health and move towards a drug-free life is provided, this isn’t the focus of the project, which is to reduce the risks that come with injecting drugs.
The opening of the Thistle comes in the wake of Peter Krykant – a former heroin addict who set up a safe consumption room in a van in 2020 in response to the usual support services closing during the pandemic. Both projects have been very controversial due to concerns about encouraging harmful practices and particular unease from residents of the potential increase in drug dealing and drug usage within this area of East Glasgow. The clinic has been purposefully located in an area with a high population of drug users, assuming that drug users are unlikely to travel to access a facility such as the Thistle.
Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe – 400 to 500 drug injections occur outside every day in Glasgow alone. After a record number of drug-related deaths in 2020, the government decided to allocate £250 million of funding over the coming five years to help tackle this problem. This facility is a step forward in approaching drug addictions as a health concern, instead of trying to criminalise vulnerable groups. The aim is to reduce overdoses and fatalities, as well as lessen public injections and the littering of used needles.
Within the first week, the clinic saw over 100 visitors. Looking forward, they hope to introduce a drug testing service. Councillors and medical professionals have voiced the need for more services like the Thistle in Glasgow, alongside rehab services to help with this pressing issue.
Image via Hennie Stander on Unsplash