Mobile drug consumption units could be introduced in Scotland

Mobile drug consumption facilities are already used in places like the Netherlands

Mobile drug consumption units could be used to help tackle Scotland's drugs crisis, MPs have suggested.

A report into Glasgow drug consumption facility The Thistle - which opened for a three-year pilot at the start of 2025 - raised the possibility of additional alternative models being considered.

The document by the Scottish Affairs Committee found smaller mobile facilities - like those used in Portugal and the Netherlands - could be more cost-effective, while reaching a greater number of drug users.

The MPs also stated an inhalation room, which would let users smoke drugs via pipes, is needed for The Thistle to remain effective.

The thistle facility on Hunter Street allows people to take illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine, with the intention of reducing fatal and non-fatal overdoses due to the substances being taken under the supervision of clinicians.

Figures released earlier this month showed Scotland had remained the drugs death capital of Europe for a seventh year in a row despite a 13% fall in fatalities.

How is the issue being tackled in Europe?

MPs drew a comparison to Lisbon, where the city has both a fixed room site and mobile facilities, at a cheaper cost.

The report stated: "The mobile facility was highlighted as being particularly beneficial at reaching out to potential service users who had not yet been in contact with the local authorities, as the site can move to areas where there are spikes in consumption."

However, any relocation would need approval from local authorities, which was not always granted in Lisbon due to concerns of disruption.

The report added: "While a mobile unit could have a broader geographic reach in Glasgow, it would not be possible under the Lord Advocate's current statement of prosecution policy, which has a very narrow scope limited to the premises of The Thistle."

Health experts believe an inhalation room would mean a less dangerous way of taking crack cocaine

The document also said the addition of an inhalation room would be vital for the long-term future of the facility.

Health experts involved with The Thistle previously said they were "keen" on the idea but smoking laws in Scotland and drugs laws set in Westminster would need to change before pipes could be supplied to users.

The report stated: "For The Thistle to be effective, it must be able to meet the needs of the population it is trying to help, which it cannot do without an inhalation room.

"As well as making the facility accessible to those who inhale drugs, encouraging visitors to change their method of consuming drugs from injecting to inhaling can be an important harm reduction step."

MPs also called on the UK government to place The Thistle on a more stable legal footing, describing the current situation as precarious.

After years of political wrangling, The Thistle was able to go ahead after Scotland's senior law officer, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, said users would not be prosecuted for possessing illegal drugs while at the facility.

The report argues that should be the pilot be considered a success upon ending, then UK legislation should create a new legal framework to properly operate and regulate both the site, and any potential future rooms.

The committee had been told the UK government does not support drug consumption facilities and would therefore not make legislative changes in support of them.

The committee said the UK government should adopt "an evidence-based approach" to the facility rather than deciding in advance.

The Thistle opened in January

Patricia Ferguson, who chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee, said drug-deaths in Scotland were "the most pressing public health issue facing the nation."

She added: "If the facility, after its three-year pilot, is shown to be effective at tackling drug-related harm, we're urging the UK government to follow the evidence, and take the legislative action needed to create a proper legal framework that will ensure it can run and be regulated properly.

"However, we also recognise that The Thistle is not a silver bullet. Our report emphasises that this pilot shouldn't come at the cost of other recovery services – rather, they should operate in tandem to offer as much help as possible to people with problem drug use."

However Annemarie Ward, the chief executive of anti-drugs charity Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, said the report "dresses up managed decline as progress."

She said: "Millions are being poured into consumption booths while detox and rehab remain starved.

"Politicians call this 'progressive' and 'compassionate.' It is not. It is duplicitous to expand facilities that keep people in addiction while denying them the treatment that could set them free."

A proposal for another safe drug consumption room, this time in Edinburgh, is currently being developed.