Latest news with #RighttoRecoveryBill
The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Drug consumption room leads to abandoned needles complaints
The figures, which go up to May 20, 2025, are thought to be the 'tip of the iceberg' with fears residents may be handling the issue themselves instead of lodging an official report. The number of police call outs within the vicinity of the building can also be revealed. The police data includes Police Scotland's BA18 beat, which includes Hunter Street, Bell Street and parts of Duke Street. Councillor Allan Casey, city convener for addictions, said the facilities was part of the solution - not the problem. The Herald reveals the data days after the Scottish Government confirmed suspected drug deaths had risen by a third between January and March 2025. There were 308 such deaths in the first three months of the year, up 33% during the same time in 2024. Official reports suggested suspected drug deaths in Scotland 'remained at a high level', with cases up by 76 when compared to October and December 2024. Read more: Scotland's first drug consumption room opened in January under a three-year pilot project which allows clients to inject illegally-bought heroin or cocaine under medical supervision. The specific aim of the facility is to reduce overdoses and drug-related harm. Between January and March, 143 people visited The Thistle Centre a total of 1,067 times. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain confirmed that users would not be prosecuted for possessing illegal substances while at the facility. However, the data obtained by the Scottish Tories also revealed police officers have been called to the surrounding areas of Hunter Street 195 times since the facility opened. Between January and May, officers responded to 95 incidents relating to theft, 23 for public nuisance, 19 for disturbance and 13 for specific drugs or substance misuse. Other incidents included intrusion, noise, abduction and extortion, sexual offences, vehicle crime and assault. Annie Wells, drugs spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, urged the Scottish Government to call time on the 'reckless' experiment. She said the Scottish Government instead should back the Right to Recovery Bill, introduced to Holyrood by former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, which looks to enshrine the right to treatment for alcohol or drug addiction. She said: 'SNP ministers are completely detached from reality. Their flagship drug consumption room is making life a misery for local residents. Read more: 'They pinned all their hopes on state-sponsored drug taking, but their solution is failing. Drug deaths are still climbing and locals are left to pick up dirty needles just to keep their streets safe. 'The Thistle is piling even more pressure on our already overstretched police officers. 'SNP ministers really don't have a clue what's going on. They think putting needle bins on the streets will fix things, when in reality it will just normalise drug use. 'SNP ministers should call time on this reckless experiment and finally back the game-changing Right to Recovery Bill, which would enshrine in law a right to treatment.' After suspected drug death figures were revealed on Tuesday, the Scottish Government stressed numbers 'fluctuate from quarter to quarter', adding that 'care should be taken not to interpret movements between individual calendar quarters as indicative of any long-term trend'. The data also showed there were 166 – or 14% - fewer drug deaths in the 12 months to March 2025. Councillor Casey told The Herald: 'Annie Wells' remarks are not only detached from reality but dangerously misleading. To suggest that crime and drug use are new problems in this community is a blatant denial of decades of challenges that this community has faced. 'The Thistle facility is not the cause of these issues — it is part of the solution. With 38 overdose reversals already under its belt in just 5 and a half months, the Thistle has undoubtedly saved lives that would have otherwise been lost. Calling for its closure is reckless and shows a complete disregard for the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people and their families. 'Ms Wells was due to visit the Thistle this week as part of her role on the Criminal Justice Committee to hear directly from staff about the vital, life-saving work they are doing — yet she couldn't even be bothered to show up. This absence speaks volumes about her unwillingness to engage with the facts and the people on the ground. 'Ms. Wells owes those whose lives have been saved, their families and the wider community struggling with addiction, a clear explanation of why she wants to shut down a proven, life-saving service. Instead of spouting empty rhetoric, she should support real, evidence-based harm reduction strategies — something SNP ministers have shown the courage to do while critics like her cling to failed, outdated approaches.' The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Rise in suspected drug deaths in Glasgow this year
Latest figures from Police Scotland show there were 61 deaths in the Greater Glasgow division between January and March. It is a rise from the 50 deaths recorded for October to December last year. It means a 22% increase in the Glasgow area since the start of the year. READ NEXT:Hundreds of homeless refused accommodation in one month in Glasgow Across Scotland, there was also an increase in suspected deaths from 232 over the last three months of 2024 to 308 in the first three months of this year, a rise of 32%. The numbers of suspected drug deaths fluctuate and the most recent figures for both the Glasgow and Scottish totals are fewer than the same three months in 2024 For January to March 2024, there were 71 for Greater Glasgow and 320 across Scotland. The number of people dying from drug related deaths remains one of the highest in Europe and opposition politicians have said the government approach is not working. Annie Wells, Glasgow Conservative MSP highlighted the She said 'These devastating figures should be a source of shame for deluded SNP ministers, whose strategy to tackle drug deaths is clearly failing. 'They are completely detached from the reality of this national crisis which has spiralled to record levels on their watch.' She used the latest figures to argue the opening of the Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Glasgow is not making a difference. The centre opened in Janaury this year. Wells added: 'Nationalist politicians have been at pains to trumpet the opening of The Thistle in Glasgow as a game-changing solution, yet the number of Scots suspected to have tragically lost their lives to drugs has risen sharply since it opened. 'It is clear that facility is feeding addiction, rather than helping to treat addiction. "The public will be appalled that Neil Gray thinks more consumption rooms should get the green light while this flagship one is failing people so badly.' She instead urged MSPs and the Scottish Government to back the Tories Right to Recovery Bill at Holyrood. There have been 17 medical emergencies at the Thistle since it opened. The health secretary said last week had they not been at the centre they likely would have died. READ NEXT: 'Chancellor should have u-turned on winter fuel long ago' says SNP The Liberal Democrats, however, said more facilities like the Thistle are needed. Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish LibDem leader, said: 'One hundred people a month are dying in Scotland's drug deaths crisis. It is nothing short of a national tragedy. 'Drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland. 'Scottish Liberal Democrats would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves. 'From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug checking facilities, it's time ministers listened to our calls.'
