Progress towards a roll-out of safer drug consumption rooms across Scotland has been “far too slow”, Scottish Labour has said.
There has been little movement towards the roll-out of safe consumption rooms in the 14 months since the Lord Advocate confirmed there was a legal route to pursuing them.
With over 1,330 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2021, Scottish Labour has said that this is a public emergency.
SNP ministers have tried to convince the UK government to approve safe consumption rooms in the past but have been unsuccessful.
In a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee this week, Scotland’s Crown Agent John Logue said that a “pilot [safer drug consumption room] presents significant operational challenges in relation to policing any facility; no doubt made more difficult by the lack of a clear legal framework".
Scottish Labour community safety spokesperson Katy Clark said: “Scotland has the worst drugs deaths problem in Europe.
“Safer consumption facilities, where users can take substances in supervised conditions, have operated in different countries in Europe over several decades. The evidence base is there that they reduce the risk of disease and death and they do not increase drug use or the frequency of injection.
“However, despite the Lord Advocate confirming 14 months ago that there is a legal route to pursuing such a proposal in Scotland, we are now being told by the Crown Office that there is no timeframe for any pilot.
“The loved ones of victims are crying out for quicker action from the Scottish Government. Warm words are not enough. The Scottish Government need to clearly set out what legal advice it has received so we can start to address the horrendous drugs deaths issue across some of the most deprived areas of this country.”
This comes after the first safe consumption room in the Republic of Ireland got the go ahead last month.
Alba's Kenny MacAskill said that Scotland should follow suit.
The East Lothian MP said: "Yet again Ireland is overtaking Scotland. We've been talking about this for longer and the need here is greater. It's time the Scottish Government took some lessons from Ireland and provided Safe Consumption Rooms.
"They'll neither solve the drug problem in Scotland or in Ireland but they will save lives. Too many are dying here not to act. It's time the Scottish Government stopped just talking and followed the Irish example and just got on and provided them."
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