Drug use: Calls for consumption room to 'prevent deaths'

Damien McNairney says more "compassion" is needed

There are fresh calls for a drug consumption room to be opened in Northern Ireland.

The facility would allow drug users to inject substances such as heroin under supervision of trained medical staff.

Users of these services receive clean needles, mental health support and supervision from medics who can respond quickly to an overdose.

Drug consumption rooms are not permitted in the UK under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

There are more than 200 such facilities in 17 countries worldwide.

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.

Those working on the ground say the situation has now reached 'crisis point'.

'We need to be more compassionate'

Damien McNairney, an outreach worker at The People's Kitchen - a charity supporting homeless and vulnerable people, said people needed to "stop being judgemental".

He's been working with drug users and people who are homeless for 7 years

"We need to be more compassionate. The number of deaths just keeps increasing," he told BBC News NI.

According to official figures there have been 585 drugs related deaths in Northern Ireland over the past three years.

"A safe consumption room is going to prevent deaths and stop needles like we're seeing from being discarded on the streets," he said.

On Tuesday, BBC Spotlight reported that young people in Northern Ireland are being forced into sex and criminality to pay off drug debts.

Dublin injecting facility

In September, Dublin will open its first safe injecting facility at Merchants Quay in the city centre.

It will mark the culmination of seven years of planning.

Eddy Mullins from Merchants Quay Ireland said it would "undoubtedly save lives".

"There are people today on the streets of Dublin who are injecting in an undignified and an unsafe manner - in alleyways and in underground car parks without any support," he said.

"We've had a significant issue with Nitazenes over the last few months. In November we had over 60 overdoses in a weekend period. It highlights the need for this facility even more than ever."

However there have been objections.

Eddy Mullins from Merchants Quay Ireland says the Dublin room will "save lives"

In 2019, Dublin City Council refused a planning application after locals, businesses and some public representatives said the location was unsuitable.

"I can completely understand the concerns and the reservations people have but I think a lot of them are misplaced," said Mr Mullins.

"We're in a part of the city that has had its fair share of deprivation, poverty and problems so I can fully understand their concerns."

But he added it was a "positive" development as it would "take people off the streets into a more dignified, safe environment."

Those supportive of the service argue it will save lives, place people in treatment, reduce infections and reduce drug paraphernalia on the streets.

There is, however, a grey area.

The types of drugs being used in Merchants Quay are illegal to possess on the streets. But using them in the Safe Injecting Facility will be legal.

How will it work?

"That's the big challenge for everybody," said Mr Mullins.

"The guards [police] would be very familiar with the clientele who are in a dire situation and we work very closely with the guards to support people who are in chronic addiction.

"But they have a job to do in terms of supply and to deal with the criminal aspect of drug supply. It's going to be an interesting journey for everybody."

Those who support the pilot say it will help reduce drug paraphernalia on the streets

Drug users at Merchants Quays have described an injection room as a lifeline.

Gary has been using drugs for almost 40 years and has lost two brothers and a sister to heroin.

"Crack is an epidemic. It's everywhere. Crystal meth is starting to come here. Crack is just a head game and that's what gets you hooked," he said.

"Drugs has destroyed my family. I just have a brother and a sister left out of a family of eight all due to drugs.

"You're not living. You're just living for the next pipe. You will not get clean in an area where drugs are being sold.

"You only have to walk around the corner and you'll get drugs."

Should there be a facility like this in Northern Ireland?

Among those who work on the streets of Belfast the answer appears to be "yes".

"You develop friendships with people you help on the streets and when they don't come back because they've died from a drugs overdose, it's hard," Damien McNairney said.

"People are struggling and the numbers will continue to rise unless we do something positive. And that is a safe injecting facility," he added.

Would the law need to change?

The UK's first drugs consumption room will open in Scotland in the summer without legislative change.

This is because Scotland's senior law officer, the lord advocate, said it would not be in the public interest to prosecute users for possessing illegal drugs while at the facility.

Northern Ireland's attorney general told BBC News NI they did not have the same powers as the lord advocate in Scotland.

"In this jurisdiction, prosecution decisions in are made by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, applying both an evidential test and a public interest test," a spokesperson said.

"Guidance on the public interest test is given in the Code for Prosecutors. Policy decisions on legislative change are not a matter for the attorney general."

As it currently stands there are no plans for a consumption room in Northern Ireland.

The Department of Health (DoH) said there were no proposals in the strategy on "Overdose Prevention Facilities" at this time.

A spokesperson said drug consumption rooms were not permitted under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

"The issue of criminal sanctions for those found in possession of drugs is an issue that is frequently raised with this type of facility. This is also governed by the Misuse of Drugs Act and remains a reserved matter," they said.

The department added that it would "continue to monitor evidence on the effectiveness of different interventions, such as the forthcoming pilot overdose prevention facilities in Glasgow and Dublin, and will give due consideration to new interventions as appropriate within the wider legislative framework".