Forget drug rooms, we need to address root causes of addiction
Are drug consumption rooms making an effective contribution to reducing drug deaths in Scotland, or could the money needed to operate them be better spent?
The drug death rate in Scotland is the worst in Europe, but is the provision of drug consumption rooms alleviating or contributing to the problem? I only ask because Edinburgh City Council has agreed to initiate a public consultation exercise on the provision of a safe drug consumption room in Edinburgh, in one of the two sites identified, namely on the Cowgate or on Spittal Street. These sites were chosen, as a recent report seen by councillors, highlighted that the Old Town “has the greatest concentration of harms related to public injecting and other high-risk public drug use”.
The report also stated that operating the service would need a “robust team of staff” and if it ran for eight hours a day, would require 25.9 full time equivalent (FTE) staff or if for 12 hours a day, 44.6 FTEs with an estimated cost of up to £2 million a year. Since a similar facility opened in Glasgow’s east end in January almost 6000 uses have been recorded, prompting its supporters to claim that it is saving lives and making a major contribution to reducing the number of people dying from drug use.
However, some detractors argue that it is soaking up resources that could be better spent on addiction services such as rehab, supporting families and funding recovery. Anne Marie Ward, an internationally recognised addiction expert and former addict, posted on X that: “It is neither kind, compassionate, nor progressive to establish drug consumption rooms like the one opening in Glasgow. These facilities, often framed as harm reduction measures, are a superficial and deeply flawed response to the drug crisis that betray the very values they claim to uphold. True compassion is about empowering people to overcome their struggles, not creating spaces where their suffering is normalised and perpetuated.”
She also noted that suspected drug deaths in Glasgow have risen by a third since the drug consumption room opened. She went on to say: “There is nothing kind about offering people a place to continue destructive behaviours that keep them trapped in cycles of chaos, compulsion and despair. Addiction is not just about substances – it is about trauma, poverty and broken systems that fail to provide hope or opportunity. By focussing on consumption rather than recovery, these rooms communicate a devastating message ‘We don’t believe you can get better’. That is not kindness – it is surrender.”
There were 92 drug deaths in Edinburgh last year, but councillors should not just take a decision that they think might be politically correct, but must seriously consider whether or not consumption rooms are the answer. I think not. In closing, I will leave the last word to Anne-Marie Ward: “Instead of investing in life-changing services, more and more millions are poured into facilities that are caught up in the delusional idea that they are managing addiction without addressing its root causes.”