'Drug use at building site shows need for legal drug consumption room'

One of the aims of drug consumption rooms is to reduce overdoses

A derelict building site that is being used by drug users to inject cocaine and heroin has prompted fresh calls for a drug consumption room in Belfast.

The site in the city centre is earmarked for student accommodation, however it is currently being used by drug users to inject Class A drugs.

Drug consumption rooms allow people to inject substances such as heroin under medical supervision but Westminster would need to change the law to allow them in Northern Ireland.

Independent city councillor Paul McCusker said the use of drugs at the derelict site was a "dangerous and worrying" development.

The site in Belfast is currently derelict

McCusker said it highlighted the "significant need for a consumption room in Belfast".

"This is a very dangerous situation for drug users," he said.

"The site is tucked away and secluded and if someone takes an overdose here it's harder to reach them.

"If ever there was a time for an overdose prevention facility, it is now".

In March 2023, Belfast City councillors passed a motion in favour of setting up a safe injecting facility to help prevent overdoses among drug users.

The council has no legal power to open a facility and a change in legislation would be required for this to happen.

The aim would be to reduce overdoses and drug-related harm as well as making drug use less visible to the community.

Paul McCusker has called for a new approach

McCusker said the number of needles being discarded on the streets of Belfast had significantly risen over the past few years.

"Belfast City Council has advised me there is about 600 needles a month being found on the streets," he said.

"But remember these are just figures from Belfast City Council, there are groups like Extern and the Welcome Organisation that lift needles, so that figure will be much higher.

"It is clear this isn't a safe place for people to inject. It's filthy. It's dangerous and someone is going to be seriously hurt.

"We need to be more innovative around how we deal with this problem, an overdose prevention facility is the obvious answer to this issue."

In March, Justice Minister Naomi Long told BBC News NI that the "war on drugs had not been won" and there needed to be a rethink of how illegal drugs are dealt with in Northern Ireland.

Glasgow's drug consumption room

The UK's first and only drug consumption room opened in Glasgow in January.

This scheme could only go ahead because Scotland's senior prosecutor, the Lord Advocate, announced a change in policy which meant users would not be prosecuted for possessing illegal drugs while at the facility.

The UK government said it had no plans to introduce other consumption rooms but it would not interfere in the Glasgow project.

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said the use of the derelict building site "shows that there is a clear and growing drugs crisis in Belfast, particularly centred around certain parts of the city centre core".

He added: "Council staff and organisations such as Extern are constantly removing used needles and other drug waste.

"The problem isn't going away and we need to change our approach to drug use and base it around harm reduction."

He said Belfast "desperately needs an overdose prevention facility".

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