Scotland’s first drug checking service has opened in Glasgow today [Monday, 9 November].
Based at Hunter Street, on the same site as The Thistle, the service will support people to submit a small sample of drugs for testing and receive tailored harm reduction advice in around 20 minutes.
With Scotland’s drug supply becoming increasingly unpredictable, access to reliable information about what drugs contain is more important than ever.
While the opening of this service marks an important step forward, license conditions risk creating unnecessary barriers to access: anyone using the service must be over 18 and considered ‘dependent’ on substances. However, the licensing framework does not define what ‘dependent’ means in practice, leaving staff to make judgements about who is eligible.
Further point of care services are planned for Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh.
Drug checking services in Scotland will be supported by a national testing and research laboratory in Dundee. The laboratory will carry out detailed analysis of samples collected by drug checking services and feed data directly into Scotland’s national drug early warning systems, helping alert public health teams, services and communities to toxic batches and new drugs in circulation.
Kirsten Horsburgh, Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Drugs Forum, says:
“We are very pleased that drug checking is finally available in Glasgow. While this may be considered progressive in a Scottish context, drug checking is already an established part of compassionate, evidence-informed drug policy in many countries around the world.
“At its heart, drug checking is about respect. Everyone has the right to know what is in the drugs they are taking. While it cannot make drug use safe, it provides information that can help people make more informed decisions about their own health.
“As well as helping individuals, drug checking services generate valuable public health intelligence about substances circulating in local drug markets. This helps identify emerging threats and enables services to respond more quickly.
“But one Glasgow service is not enough. We need to scale up provision across Scotland, including in rural and remote communities, and explore different models of delivery, such as mobile and outreach-based services.
“We also need the Home Office to remove the conditions attached to current licences. Requirements around age and whether someone is considered ‘dependent’ on substances risk creating unnecessary barriers and undermine the inclusive, person-centred approach that should underpin harm reduction.
“Scotland has taken an important first step. Now we need to build on it, move faster and make sure everyone who could benefit from drug checking can access it, wherever they live.”