Exclusive
Furious residents near UK's first drug consumption room rally over 'needle nightmare'
1 May 2025, 09:01 | Updated: 1 May 2025, 13:59
Furious residents living near the UK's first drug consumption room have told LBC their streets are seeing an influx of needles and crime.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Thistle Centre opened in Glasgow in January this year allowing users to bring and take illegal substances like heroin without being arrested.
Officials hope providing a safe space, clean equipment and medical supervision will lead to fewer drug-related deaths and allow them to signpost users to support services.
Statistics for its first nine weeks revealed there had been 168 individuals had used the service over 1435 visits and that 17 medical emergencies had been 'managed and resolved'.
But four months in, locals to the Calton area are claiming it's also fuelled an 'out of control' situation with needles left in their streets and an influx of users travelling in from other parts of the city.
Dozens attended and spoke about their experiences at a community-organised meeting about its impact held earlier this week, which LBC had exclusive access to.
One pensioner who didn't want to be named said: "We have every sympathy for them (users) but we were told there would be less needles. There's not. There's more and more needles going about. They said it wouldn't attract drug users from other districts. It is.
"I was out shouting at one the other day because he was urinating on my garden wall. Another I saw on the street with his trousers down his ankles shooting up, and there was a wain (child) playing in the garden there. And we've all seen that in different bits of the Calton.
"We've not got a life anymore. The last month and this month at 2, 3, 5 o'clock I'm either getting my door knocked or the letterbox done. It's unbelievable.
"Around our pensioner clubs nobody is coming out at night. And if they do, they're back at 9pm because that place shuts at 9pm and then they (users) are all coming out here. It's not just a wee crowd, it is a lot. They come up the street, up the lane and along the square and we are getting more and more. "
Vanessa Paton said: "Our community is turning to s**t. You're getting needles galore. You're getting people walking into (users) at night who are out their face. We've watched people s**ting right at our gate. What way to live is this? I feel as if we're living in f***ing Victorian times. It's a nightmare.
"These issues were not there before. I've seen the difference in the last couple of months. There's been at least four needles with blood in them dumped under my partner's window. Users trying to get into the area at night.
"You feel as if you're living in a ghetto. That was not happening (before). It's getting beyond a joke. The volume of them (needles) is just getting out of hand. You're scared to walk your dog in case they step on one."
Another woman told the group: "There's people on the streets who get aggressive to you. I've had to start keeping a baseball bat behind my door. Why should I have to chance getting the jail because they want to do that?"
Linda Watson said: "We have had more drug dealers and users in the areas and, on the number of needles, we never particularly noticed them before, we knew they were around, but now everywhere you walk on the pavements and in the bushes (you see them). And actually a lot of people are just standing hitting up in front of you not trying to hide it.
"There were drug dealers and users here before, but it's all strange faces here now and more (of them) in the area now. They're not keeping their promise of cleaning up the place or whatever, it has actually made it quite impossible to live here now".
And Angela Scott agreed: "You used to see the odd needle but not on this level. I've been here for three years and yes this place could have its issues but you tended to know people and it was alright. You knew the users. But now they're coming from all over the city because of the room and coming out (on the streets)."
The meeting also heard from Colin McGowan of the Blameless charity, Annemarie Ward of FAVOR UK, Francis Wilson of The Streets podcast and from Labour Councillor Cecilia O'Lone, who said she thought the consumption room was in the wrong place and vowed to help residents with whatever action they wanted to take next.
Proposals discussed included a march through the streets, a demonstration where needles would be dumped at Parliament and creating a panel of local residents.
After the meeting, Angela showed LBC around the front garden area of her block of flats around 300metres from the facility.
In under a minute we discovered five dumped needles as well as what appeared to be human excrement.
In a green space across the street we found another needle as well as other paraphernalia used for injecting drugs.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We have a community forum set up and running specifically for residents and businesses to discuss with officers any concerns and allow us an opportunity to address them.
"It is well-known that public injecting has been taking place in close proximity to the Thistle and within the Calton area for many years - well before the service opened. It is one of the reasons for the facility being where it is.
"We are monitoring the impact of the service and to date, there has been no notable increase in discarded needles reported to us in the area since the Thistle opened. However, this and the community’s experience will be fully measured and reported on as part of the service evaluation.”
Scottish Government Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I recognise local people’s concerns and we are addressing them through ongoing needle uplift operations, with plans to expand public needle disposal bins beyond the city centre to other affected areas.
“As part of its harm-reduction service, the Thistle provides the same kits as all city-wide needle exchange services.
“Research and evaluation from similar facilities around the world has found consistent evidence that they can help save and improve lives, reduce harms associated with drug use and levels of public drug consumption and publicly discarded drug-related litter.
“Glasgow Health and Social Care partnership will continue to engage with the local community, including businesses, and a comprehensive independent evaluation will examine the service’s impact.”
