Latest news with #RighttoRecoveryBill
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
'Astonishing' sum spent on needle bins in Glasgow revealed
Research by the Scottish Conservatives revealed that the Glasgow City Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) purchased 'public sharps bins' for the Calton area. They cost the partnership - a multi-agency group including the council, police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - £2,500 per bin, according to a freedom of information request. In June, Glasgow City Council took to social media to respond to local concerns about a "public injecting site". The authority said it had cleared the site on derelict land in Calton and removed discarded needles safely. The Thistle, the UK's first drug consumption room giving those struggling with addiction a safe place to inject drugs, opened in the east of Glasgow in January. READ NEXT: 3 suspects accused of murder of man in Glasgow 20 years ago READ NEXT: Glasgow man stealing from cars spat and told cops he had HIV It has supervised 3,600 injecting episodes since it opened as well as tackling around 40 medical emergencies, which can include administering Naloxone - an emergency overdose reversal drug - or even resuscitation. The bins, costing the partnership £5,000 for the Calton area where the safe consumption room is based, were installed in response to local concerns. However, there are more bins across the city centre. It comes as our sister title The Herald previously revealed a number of significant complaints relating to abandoned needles and syringes in the vicinity of The Thistle site, on Glasgow's Hunter Street, since the safe drug consumption room opened in January. Annie Wells, drugs spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said: "Local residents will be shocked to hear the SNP-led council shelled out £5,000 on these two needle bins. "Despite the astonishing sum spent, they are doing little to help those living near The Thistle, who are having to put themselves in harms way to pick up dirty needles. In response to local concerns we have been clearing a public injecting site on derelict land in Calton. Discarded needles safely removed and disposed of, overgrowth cut back and other waste lifted. Needle bins also installed at sites where we know public injecting takes place. — Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) June 6, 2025 "We repeatedly warned that the SNP shouldn't have pinned their hopes on state-sponsored drug taking, at huge cost to our overstretched NHS, as the answer to Scotland's drug deaths crisis, but in typical nationalist fashion they ploughed ahead regardless. "Scotland already has the highest drug fatality rate in Europe and since The Thistle opened, suspected fatalities are rising. This project isn't helping those with addiction and is making the local community and no-go zone. "It's just common sense that the focus needs to shift from facilitating drug-taking to treating addiction. "John Swinney needs to get off the fence and back the Right to Recovery Bill, which would enshrine in law a right to treatment and a potential game-changer in reducing Scotland's drug deaths toll." A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: 'We know discarded needles cause concern and it has been a long-standing issue in Calton and surrounding areas. 'The installation of two bins followed a successful pilot initiative in the city centre and money was made available by the Alcohol and Drug Partnership for additional bins in other areas. 'Evaluation of the pilot indicated high usage rates, favourable feedback from local businesses, and a positive impact on the local environment. 'The Thistle service has now seen over 3,600 injecting episodes which has diverted the needles used away from the community. 'A safer environment has also been provided for users that reduces harm and the need for emergency responses. 'We want local residents to report issues with discarded needles so the needles can be removed safely and disposed of appropriately. 'Our staff are working in Calton every day and we can respond promptly to any reports we receive.' There had been 175 complaints relating to drug paraphernalia on the streets within a one-mile radius of the drug consumption room between January and May 20, 2025. The number of suspected drug deaths between March and May of this year increased by 15% compared to the previous 13 weeks, according to public data released earlier this month. Meanwhile, the Sunday Mail reported that heroin dealers caught selling the lethal drug have been let off with fines of less than £500, despite 1,065 deaths last year. Between 2022 and 2023, 1,489 people were in Scotland were convicted of drug dealing, however official figures also showed that less than a third of those convicted with dealing offences received a jail sentence. Around 800 people received community service while more than 200 were fined. The average fine for dealing heroin was £499 in 2022-23, while cannabis was £485, £503 for ecstasy and £719 for cocaine. The Scottish Government said it takes the issue of drug dealing "very seriously", adding it was "determined to tackle drug harms". A spokesman added: 'Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts, taking into account all the facts and circumstances before them.'
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
'Astonishing' sum spent on needle bins in Glasgow revealed
They cost the partnership - a multi-agency group including the council, police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - £2,500 per bin, according to a freedom of information request. In June, Glasgow City Council took to social media to respond to local concerns about a "public injecting site". The authority said it had cleared the site on derelict land in Calton and removed discarded needles safely. The Thistle, the UK's first drug consumption room giving those struggling with addiction a safe place to inject drugs, opened in the east of Glasgow in January. Read more: It has supervised 3,600 injecting episodes since it opened as well as tackling around 40 medical emergencies, which can include administering Naloxone - an emergency overdose reversal drug - or even resuscitation. The bins, costing the partnership £5,000 for the Calton area where the safe consumption room is based, were installed in response to local concerns. However, there are more bins across the city centre. It comes as The Herald previously revealed a number of significant complaints relating to abandoned needles and syringes in the vicinity of The Thistle site, on Glasgow's Hunter Street, since the safe drug consumption room opened in January. Annie Wells, drugs spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said: "Local residents will be shocked to hear the SNP-led council shelled out £5,000 on these two needle bins. "Despite the astonishing sum spent, they are doing little to help those living near The Thistle, who are having to put themselves in harms way to pick up dirty needles. In response to local concerns we have been clearing a public injecting site on derelict land in Calton. Discarded needles safely removed and disposed of, overgrowth cut back and other waste lifted. Needle bins also installed at sites where we know public injecting takes place. — Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) June 6, 2025 "We repeatedly warned that the SNP shouldn't have pinned their hopes on state-sponsored drug taking, at huge cost to our overstretched NHS, as the answer to Scotland's drug deaths crisis, but in typical nationalist fashion they ploughed ahead regardless. "Scotland already has the highest drug fatality rate in Europe and since The Thistle opened, suspected fatalities are rising. This project isn't helping those with addiction and is making the local community and no-go zone. "It's just common sense that the focus needs to shift from facilitating drug-taking to treating addiction. "John Swinney needs to get off the fence and back the Right to Recovery Bill, which would enshrine in law a right to treatment and a potential game-changer in reducing Scotland's drug deaths toll." A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: 'We know discarded needles cause concern and it has been a long-standing issue in Calton and surrounding areas. 'The installation of two bins followed a successful pilot initiative in the city centre and money was made available by the Alcohol and Drug Partnership for additional bins in other areas. 'Evaluation of the pilot indicated high usage rates, favourable feedback from local businesses, and a positive impact on the local environment. 'The Thistle service has now seen over 3,600 injecting episodes which has diverted the needles used away from the community. 'A safer environment has also been provided for users that reduces harm and the need for emergency responses. 'We want local residents to report issues with discarded needles so the needles can be removed safely and disposed of appropriately. 'Our staff are working in Calton every day and we can respond promptly to any reports we receive.' The Herald recently revealed there had been 175 complaints relating to drug paraphernalia on the streets within a one-mile radius of the drug consumption room between January and May 20, 2025. Read more: The number of suspected drug deaths between March and May of this year increased by 15% compared to the previous 13 weeks, according to public data released earlier this month. Meanwhile, the Sunday Mail reported that heroin dealers caught selling the lethal drug have been let off with fines of less than £500, despite 1,065 deaths last year. Between 2022 and 2023, 1,489 people were in Scotland were convicted of drug dealing, however official figures also showed that less than a third of those convicted with dealing offences received a jail sentence. Around 800 people received community service while more than 200 were fined. The average fine for dealing heroin was £499 in 2022-23, while cannabis was £485, £503 for ecstasy and £719 for cocaine. The Scottish Government said it takes the issue of drug dealing "very seriously", adding it was "determined to tackle drug harms". A spokesman added: 'Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts, taking into account all the facts and circumstances before them.'
The Herald Scotland
29-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
RADAR: Suspected drug deaths in Scotland rise by 15%
Detections of street benzodiazepines continue to decrease, while nitazene-type opioids are increasingly identified. Adulteration of heroin, benzodiazepines and oxycodone with nitazene-type opioids continues to be reported through testing data. Nitazenes are associated with rapid onset of overdose and difficulty reversing overdoses with naloxone. They are increasingly detected in hospital and post-mortem toxicology in Scotland. The majority of harm continues to involve the use of more than one substance. Among people who had an assessment for specialist drug treatment, powder cocaine was the most commonly reported main drug. Cocaine was the most commonly identified drug in NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside drug treatment testing, and ASSIST hospital toxicology. It was the second most common drug in post-mortem toxicology after heroin. READ MORE: What Edinburgh can learn from Glasgow's drug consumption room Will Glasgow's long-awaited drug consumption facility work? NHS health board admits 'no competence' in later abortion care At the start of this year, The Thistle - the UK's first and only drug consumption room - was opened to reduce harm. However, the Scottish Conservatives have been in strong opposition. Commenting on the latest figures, Scottish Conservative shadow minister for drugs Annie Wells MSP said: 'The tragic rise in suspected fatalities lays bare just how appallingly the SNP are failing to tackle the drugs deaths epidemic they've presided over. 'The Nationalists continue to pin all their hopes on drugs-consumption rooms as the sole solution to this crisis but, with deaths rising since The Thistle opened, it's clear their plan is not working. 'Complacent SNP ministers must finally accept that consumption rooms are not a silver bullet for Scotland's drugs emergency and focus instead on treatment and rehab. 'People need support, and they need it now. John Swinney should finally give his full backing to the Right to Recovery Bill, which is backed by frontline experts and would enshrine in law a right to treatment for all those who need it.' Scottish Labour has welcomed the safe consumption room pilot, however, they have warned it must not be used as substitute for efforts to clamp down on criminal gangs. Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: 'It is deeply troubling that drug deaths are on the rise again, with 312 suspected drug deaths between March and May this year. 'Scotland's drug emergency is claiming far too many lives and more must be done to not only save lives but ensure that people can recover. 'The SNP must start delivering a genuinely joined-up approach to tackle the drug death crisis and ensure that every single person struggling with drug misuse can get the care, support and treatment they need. 'Scottish Labour welcomes the safe consumption room pilot, but this is not a substitute for a co-ordinated effort to stop the supply of drugs by criminal gangs who have no thought for the tragedies they unleash. 'The SNP government must work with Police Scotland, local authorities and health boards to ensure that those making money out of this misery are held to account, while their victims have the best possible chance of recovery.' The Scottish Government has said they are working "at pace" to deliver drug-checking facilities and have said the are providing "record levels" of funding for drugs and alcohol programmes. Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Maree Todd said: 'Every drug death is a tragedy, and my condolences go to anyone who has lost a loved one. 'I am determined to do more to tackle drug harms and that is why we are providing record levels of funding for drugs and alcohol programmes, including widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone. We are also working at pace to deliver drug-checking facilities and we opened the UK's first Safer Drug Consumption Facility which is saving lives. 'We are working hard to respond to the growing threat from polydrug use, including 'street benzos' and cocaine, and from highly dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes. These synthetic drugs can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin and can increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death. Because of their strength I would urge people to carry extra life-saving naloxone kits.'
The Herald Scotland
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Why are some people painting Calton as a needle-infested hell hole?
The area has always been a hotspot for open-air injecting, and that is why it was chosen as the site of the drug consumption facility. It was already the location of a health and social care facility for homelessness services before The Thistle opened in January. In 2019, it became the location of the pioneering Enhanced Drug Treatment Service (EDTS). A separate project from The Thistle, the service treats patients with the most severe addictions who have not responded to existing treatment by giving them injectable diamorphine (heroin) twice a day. Working in tandem with Glasgow's Homeless Addictions Team, patients must be totally committed to the treatment and attend the centre twice a day, seven days a week. For this and other reasons, it seems logical that The Thistle opened where it did. I lived on the cusp of Calton for a few years, having moved in during the pandemic. With the city centre mostly empty, thanks to its remarkably low population for a city, it felt forgotten. Lawless. A no-man's-land populated by people on the fringes. I watched heroin deals out of the kitchen window in shock while scrubbing the dishes. Sometimes there would be drug paraphernalia left in the close after someone managed to get inside to use. But as lockdown restrictions eased and the area crawled back to life, the desolation seemed to wane. The areas we visit on our walk are not places that I would seek out, whether I was getting my shopping at Morrisons or walking to the health centre on Abercromby Street, so I can't recall a time when I was confronted with the deluge of drug litter that has been in the press. Though I understand why so many residents are scared that the amount of discarded drug paraphernalia is increasing in the area. Sharp objects that pierce you and perhaps infect you with something, cluttering areas in your community, is terrifying. I hate to use the word NIMBY here. I understand why residents wouldn't want this in their backyard. But the argument that it should be anywhere else but here is not entirely valid. The homelessness services and the open-air drug use were already in Calton's backyard. Now, politicians, campaigners, and potential future politicians are amplifying these fears for their own political gain. And it is important to cut through the noise. Take the Scottish Tories obtaining a Freedom of Information request for the number of complaints relating to drug paraphernalia within a one-mile radius of the facility between January and May 2025 to push their Right to Recovery Bill. These figures are misleading. A one-mile radius from The Thistle takes in most of the city centre, where drug use is prevalent, as well as Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, Royston, Gorbals and Dennistoun. Not to mention, there have historically been high reports for this area, even before The Thistle opened. Read more I attended a Calton Community Council meeting last month, and the mood was remarkably different from the anger displayed at a series of meetings at Saint Luke's, where residents and politicians gathered to demand that John Swinney take action and 'admit there's a problem' in the area. One resident at the meeting I attended had taken the opportunity to visit The Thistle, and she told the room that she was impressed with the work they were doing. While concerns were raised about public drug use in the ward, no one volunteered that it was connected to The Thistle. There is a growing political lobby that seeks to tie The Thistle into Scotland's drug death crisis, an increase in public safety issues due to open-air injecting, and to suggest that harm reduction is somehow getting in the way of abstinence-based, residential rehab beds. These arguments all seem to lead back to the Right to Recovery Bill. And the Right to Recovery Bill is, as Jan Major, the innovation lead at Turning Point Scotland, told me, a distraction. It pushes the idea that abstinence-based recovery is the right thing for everyone struggling with addiction, but that individualistic attitude (so favoured by the right) is flawed. Abstinence is not the only way that someone with a drug dependency can live a fulfilling life, and that rhetoric can set people up for failure if they are not accepted into rehab because they are not ready. People already have a right to treatment enshrined in the 2024 Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use. The Right to Recovery Bill requires a clinical diagnosis before granting the right to treatment, which is another added layer of gatekeeping. 'Are the people who are most affected by problematic alcohol and other drug use, from the most deprived parts of Scotland, who have been through the 'looked after' system, are they going to get a lawyer and sue the Scottish Government?' Major asks, pointing at a scenario where a hypothetical legal right to recovery was not honoured. 'I don't think it's going to happen.' As Major points out, drug addiction is not simply a medical problem. It is a problem of deprivation, trauma, and a lack of proper psychosocial support for the most vulnerable in society at every level. If it were a medical problem, you would not see such a difference between the richest parts of Scotland and the poorest. Politicians have been chasing headlines in the Calton, one of Scotland's most deprived communities. I understand why residents are upset. But it's important to be wary of who you hitch your wagon to. Returning to the area to discuss its problems, another story, a better story, revealed itself. That next to nearly every problem drug site, there was a big exciting development in view. From the Calton Village to the Collegelands, it seems like the area is on the up. It's time to stop stoking division, fear, and needling the people who live there. Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
The Herald Scotland
12-06-2025
- 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.
