Edinburgh drug consumption room: Campaigners plan three-minute silence at council in protest at delay
Campaigners for a safe drug consumption room in Edinburgh plan a three-minute silence when they appear before a council committee tomorrow.
Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB), which oversees health and social care in the Capital, has agreed to hold a public consultation on plans for Edinburgh to follow Glasgow’s example in setting up a safe, clean space where drug users can take substances under medical supervision.
But the consultation is not due to begin until early next year - and the campaigners say the delay will mean more deaths due to drug-related harm.
The Safer Consumption Facility (SCF) Edinburgh campaign had a deputation to the EIJB meeting in August which was discussing recommendations from the Edinburgh Alcohol and Drug Partnership on setting up a safe consumption room in the Old Town.
The deputation spoke about the “devastating impact” of further delays on communities. A month later the EIJB voted in favour of the move and agreed to hold the consultation, starting in early 2026.
Now the campaigners are due to have a deputation to the council’s policy and sustainability committee tomorrow, which is being asked to give the go-ahead to the consultation.
Josh Bailey, chair of the Safer Consumption Facility (SCF) Edinburgh campaign, said: “We have held multiple deputations over the years to various council committee’s, and we feel that there is little left for us to say.
“The council have agreed that these facilities are effective and that multiple of them are necessary throughout the city. They have agreed to implement one of them.
“Our deputation on October 21 will be used to illustrate the absurdity of the constant delays which have plagued this process.
“Safer Consumption Facilities save lives; it is vital that one is implemented in Edinburgh as soon as possible. Each further delay has a real impact, lives are lost, and communities are torn apart.”
No specific location has yet been identified for a safe drug consumption room. It is expected site would be open seven days a week, and between eight and 12 hours a day, with nurses on site to supervise users as they inject, or possibly inhale, drugs.
Other staff at the consumption room would be on hand to offer support to users, including signposting for services which may be useful to them.
Along with facilities for injecting, and possibly inhaling, drugs, the consumption room would also include clinics to tackle other health issues such as wound care, infectious diseases, sexual health, and possibly also screening and management for chronic diseases.