Drugs

Ministers are examining whether legislation banning smoking in public places should be amended to permit the smoking of crack cocaine within supervised drug consumption facilities in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Health officials say there has been a shift in recent years away from injecting heroin towards

A new report has called on Police Scotland to make clear its policy on drug harm reduction. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland carried out a review to assess how effectively Police Scotland helps minimise drug-related harm.

A judge in Belgium has warned that the country is "evolving into a narco-state", with the government accused of failing to adequately support judges intimidated by drug traffickers. Belgium's court and tribunals service last week published an open letter penned by one of the 17 investigating judges

Glasgow will become the first city in Scotland where people can legally test recreational drugs for dangerous contaminants, after the UK government granted permission for a new testing facility. The move marks a major shift in UK drug policy and follows years of lobbying by campaigners who say that

A public consultation on a proposed safe drug consumption room in Edinburgh has been approved, with the city’s health board chair insisting the facility would save lives. The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) signed off the move on Monday. Officers will prepare the consultation for earl

More people impacted by drugs have received support after the Scottish government funded 225 community-based projects across the country. The National Drugs Mission Funds distributed almost £13 million in grants in 2024-25 through the Corra Foundation. In 2024-25, there were more than 51,000 i

Given the scale of Scotland’s drug death crisis, Glasgow’s Pilot Safer Drug Consumption Facility must be considered on its merits, according to a Westminster committee. Today’s report from the Scottish Affairs Committee comes just days after official figures indicated that Scotland

Services helping women affected by drugs and preventing substance use by young people are to benefit from more than £2 million funding. Minister for drugs policy Maree Todd announced the support during a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the National Records of Scotland latest statistics

Scotland remains the drug death capital of Europe despite the fact the number of deaths caused by drug misuse fell by 13 per cent to 1,017 last year – the lowest level registered since 2017. According to statistics published by National Records of Scotland today, there were 155 fewer deaths in

The University of Stirling has developed guidance to help health and social care providers design and deliver nature-based programmes for people with poor mental health and substance dependence. Experts in substance use at the university have created how-to guidance manuals for nature-based programm

Heroin users in Edinburgh could soon have access to a legal “fix room” under plans for the capital’s first safer drug consumption facility. Sites in the Cowgate and Spittal Street, at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, are the frontrunners to host the service, where up to nine people at

A London-based minibus driver convicted of being involved in transporting cannabis to Glasgow for supply has lost an appeal against his conviction in the High Court of Justiciary after the court found the sheriff had not failed to address the jury on what the appellant knew about what he was transpo

Peter Krykant, the harm reduction campaigner who paved the way for the establishment of the UK's first safer drug consumption facility, has suddenly died at the age of 48. Mr Krykant made headlines around the world when he refitted a van – and later an old ambulance – into a mobile "over

The UK government has said it will not amend the law to make it easier to establish safe drug consumption facilities, even if Glasgow’s new pilot site proves successful. The Thistle in Glasgow, which opened earlier this year, is the first such centre in the UK and is intended to address Scotla

An inquiry has been launched by Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee into tackling harms caused by substance misuse in Scottish prisons. The inquiry is split into three parts and will consider the impact of substances, including drugs and alcohol, in Scotland’s prisons. The first part will lo