A study on the unofficial Overdose Prevention Centre set up in Scotland has ruled it a major success – and calls for a roll-out of similar sanctioned services in the UK.
The detailed academic examination of drugs pioneer Peter Krykant’s adapted ambulance van in Glasgow puts pressure on the Scottish Government to set up official facilities amid the drug deaths crisis.
Scotland’s drugs minister Angela Constance promised action on such facilities nine months ago but still nothing has materialised.
The new paper, in the influential International Journal of Drug Policy, examined 894 supervised injections of heroin and cocaine, which also brought nine successful interventions with overdoses.
The paper makes it plain that its authors believe OPCs – referred to in this report as Overdose Prevention Services – can function without being shut down by the police and could save lives across the UK.
It concludes: “The unsanctioned OPS in Glasgow in 2020-21 has shown it is possible to run such a service in the UK without being closed down by the police.
“Importantly, it evidences a demand for low threshold and peer-informed services among people who are highly marginalised, with complex health, psychological, and practical needs.
“There is a plan to operate and evaluate a sanctioned service in Glasgow.
“Members of the Enhanced Harm Reduction Service Working Group, supported by the charity Drug Science, are now working towards an evaluation framework of OPS services in other parts of the UK.
“As drug-related deaths climb to ever higher levels, the need for action remains urgent.”
Researchers were given access to records made by Krykant as he gave refuge to a community of injecting drug users in Glasgow city centre.
Krykant’s venture tested the law and he was allowed to keep the van running from September 2020 to May 2021, with police generally monitoring the situation and taking no action.
Officers did charge him on one occasion but the procurator fiscal opted to take no action.
Paul Sweeney MSP was a volunteer on Krykant’s van and helped drug users access the facilities.
He said: “This report puts the efficacy of the unofficial Overdose Prevention Centre in Glasgow beyond any doubt.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work with partners to examine how a safer drug consumption facility could operate within the existing legal framework.”
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