Lord Advocate

• Dorothy Bain KC, Lord Advocate of Scotland Scotland’s most senior law officer, the Lord Advocate, has released a statement that would enable NHS Glasgow and Clyde to open a safer drug consumption facility (SDCF) in the city.
• Also known as overdose prevention centres, SDCFs are spaces where people can take their own drugs under supervision.
• They also provide non-judgmental settings where people who use drugs can access wider support or be directed to other services.
• Safer consumption rooms are viewed by many as a critical element of this broader response.

Changing approaches to drug harms

• The request was declined on the basis that what it sought was too broad and beyond the remit of the Lord Advocate.
• Last year a new, narrower request was put to the current Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain.
• The Scottish secretary Alister Jack has since confirmed that “the UK government will not intervene” to prevent a safer consumption room being established.

An essential first step

• It is of enormous significance and will be welcomed by many across the UK who believe these centres can play a vital role in tackling drug harms.
• The terms of the Lord Advocate’s statement are, however, strictly constrained.
• It applies specifically to the Glasgow pilot and is based on assessment of its particular design, setting and operating procedures.
• If we are to really understand the role safer consumption rooms can play in tackling drug harms, we need multiple pilots and evaluations.