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14 January 2025
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ADPH welcomes first drug consumption facility

We have welcomed the opening of the UK’s first safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow as a significant milestone which marks a bold step toward harm reduction and health equity.

The Thistle Centre, which opened yesterday, is backed by £2 million a year from the Scottish Government and will provide a supervised healthcare setting where people can inject drugs in the presence of trained health and social care professionals in a clean, hygienic environment.

Alison Challenger, ADPH Addiction Lead said:

“We are delighted to see that The Thistle Centre has opened. It will ensure that people who use drugs are able to do so in a clean, safe environment, while also being able to seek support and advice from trained professionals without fear of judgement or discrimination.”

Facilities like these are a vital step in reducing the harm associated with substance misuse and are important in establishing the importance of evidence-based treatment and recovery services, as well as addressing health inequalities.

Alison Challenger, who is also Director of Public Health for West Sussex, added:

“In opening this facility, Scotland is leading the way in taking a groundbreaking approach to improving public health – as was the case with the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol – by acting on the evidence to introduce measures and facilities that will improve people’s lives.

“Safer consumption facilities that are linked to complementary services giving broader support, such as addiction treatment and mental health care, alongside initiatives to prevent substance use among vulnerable children are an essential part of any drug strategy. We hope we start to see more facilities like this across the UK so that we can start to really reduce the harms associated with drug use both for individuals, their families and for local communities.”

ADPH, who represent the collective voice of Directors of Public Health across all four countries and dependent territories, have long-since called for national policy to be more focused on prevention, treatment and recovery than on supply and enforcement to fully enable harm reduction measures, including safer consumption facilities.

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