The decision by Scotland’s Lord Advocate to greenlight the trial of a safer drug consumption room in Glasgow is a landmark victory for campaigners, with the potential to transform drug policy across the UK. Dorothy Bain KC’s assertion that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences within such a facility broke a five-year constitutional deadlock and paved the way for the pilot to go ahead, in the face of Home Office opposition.
But the stakes are higher than one safe consumption facility in Scotland. This turnaround has major implications for the power struggle between the UK and Scottish governments, shifting the balance in favour of the Scottish National party and its more enlightened approach towards addiction.
