UK's first drug consumption facility delayed amid concerns over tap water safety
12 December 2024, 19:26 | Updated: 12 December 2024, 19:27
The UK's first drug consumption facility for taking heroin has been delayed due to issues with the water supply.
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The opening of the facility, located in Glasgow, has been pushed back so authorities can check that the tap water is safe.
It was due to open to drug users on October 21, allowing them to take heroin under medical supervision.
The date has now been pushed back to the end of the year or even the start of 2025 after the facility failed to pass a three-stage water testing programme.
Cllr Allan Casey, who is the convener for addiction services at Glasgow city council, said staff were "ready to go" but "red tape" around the water supply was holding up the opening.
The council will not "cut corners" to get it opened quicker, he said.
The Safer Drugs Consumption facility will accommodate up to 30 drug users at a time.
They will be able to consume illegal drugs with the supervision of clinical staff every day of the year between 9am and 9pm.
Read more: Britain's 'biggest drug smuggling gang' jailed following £7billion plot
"Nobody is more frustrated than myself, the staff are all recruited, they’re ready to go, the building is to all intents and purposes complete," Cllr Casey told BBC Radio Scotland.
"We just want to get open and provide that service, but we can’t cut any corners.
"We need to make sure this is done properly because so much scrutiny is on this building and the service that is provided, it is the first in the UK and we must get it right for everybody."
He said there had been a "satisfactory test result", with more expected next week.
It comes in a bid to tackle an increasing number of deaths connected to drugs.
Scotland is the drugs death capital of Europe, having seen the number of fatalities soar by 12 per cent last year.
The death rate in Scotland is almost triple that of the next worst country and almost double the rate in Wales.
Scotland’s chief law officer Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain told police that it would "not be in the public interest" to take action against people using the facility.
If it is deemed a success, it has been suggested that more could open across Scotland.
However, the previous Tory government refused to back the proposal.
