Now health minister backs adding crack room to controversial 'shooting gallery' facility
A heroin shooting gallery may be extended to allow drug users to inhale crack cocaine without prosecution after the controversial move was yesterday backed by Scotland's Health Secretary.
Neil Gray told MPs that the existing Glasgow drug consumption room pilot has 'limitations' because it only allows addicts to inject.
He said there is 'international evidence' to support extending it to include an inhalation room, and the Scottish Government and Lord Advocate would consider the issue if there is an application by the operator of The Thistle.
He also indicated support for considering further drug consumption rooms before the pilot scheme is evaluated.
At Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee yesterday, Mr Gray said: 'I understand because of the changing nature of substance dependency that the current establishment of the facility on an injection facility basis may provide limitations, and there is international evidence to point to the relative success of inhalation facilities.'
Bosses of the £2.3million 'safer consumption centre' in Glasgow first outlined proposals to set up an inhalation room for smoking crack cocaine within the facility in March.
They hoped this would attract more addicts to the Scottish Government-financed clinic, which is run by the Glasgow City Council and NHS bosses.
Laura Zeballos, deputy director of the Scottish Government's drugs policy division, yesterday said: 'There is international evidence that inhalation rooms are standard components of safer consumption facilities, we see that in many of the facilities in Germany, in Denmark and France, where their role in preventing respiratory harm is noted in the evidence base as a result.'
Annemarie Ward, chief executive of Faces and Voices of Recovery, said: 'I'm deeply concerned. What Neil Gray is now floating is a further normalisation of drug use, this time by providing a publicly sanctioned space for people to inhale crack cocaine. Let's call this what it is: state-enabled self-destruction.
'The fact that this expansion is even being discussed before there's been any independent analysis of the Glasgow facility's impact should worry everyone.
'We are sprinting ahead with a radical public health experiment while bypassing basic evidence, democratic accountability, and common sense.
'The original injection facility was sold as a tightly controlled pilot — now we're talking about rolling out more sites, even as the drug death toll continues to mount and treatment access remains abysmal.
'We're giving out crack pipes, but we won't fund real rehab. '
Mr Gray said there is interest from other parts of Scotland for drug consumption rooms and they need to come forward with proposals.
He said: 'That does not necessitate having to wait until the end of the pilot; that could happen before then.'
Scottish Conservative drugs spokesman Annie Wells said: 'Neil Gray needs to drop this reckless plan and urgently confirm that his government will wait for a full report on their flagship facility before agreeing to support any more consumption rooms.'
A Home Office minister yesterday said the Labour Government will not support drug consumption rooms and won't change laws to allow more to operate.
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