Scotland approves UK's first designated public drug consumption room

Scottish authorities approved the establishment of a specially designated drug consumption room after years of negotiations in an attempt to curb the country's high drug abuse rate.

As reported by Sky News, the 2.3 million-pound ($2.8 million) project pound drug consumption room will make it the first such room in the UK, while other European countries like Germany and the Netherlands have already reported successes in lowering drug abuse-related cases in hospitals.

The idea is for drug consumers to seek the facility when taking illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin to be under the supervision of medical staff.

Local officials in Glasgow approved the facility on September 27 after heavy delays since its initial proposal in 2016.

Scotland has the highest drug death figures in Western Europe with three times the rate of drug poisoning deaths compared to the UK average in 2021.

The facility, of which over 100 exist globally, was proposed amid an outbreak of HIV in Glasgow due to people injecting drugs in public places and using unsafe sanitary practices.

The government, although divided on the effectiveness of the facility, will start recruiting staff in 2024.