The argument for (and against) safe drug taking spaces

Colin Davis

September 2022

So what made me think they might be workable?

Apparently, these places are legal in Australia, Canada and a couple of countries in Europe and, although appeals for official ‘consumption rooms’ were rejected by the UK government, there’s a drug consumption van in Glasgow where addicts can inject their substance of choice.

So, I did a bit of research (on the quiet so she wouldn’t know that she’d made me think about it!) and I found these arguments:

• a lack of safe spaces could lead to more people dying of overdoses on the street
• addicts, especially women, feel safer using these places as opposed to those injecting in the street who often face the threat of violence, sexual harassment and rape
• they might cut the spread of disease because people can get clean needles etc.
• they could be a stepping-stone to treatment and healthcare

I'm still not 100% convinced that they're a good idea - I wouldn't want one where we live because I still think that they might encourage drug use and cause crime in the local area but I guess I'm more open to at least talking about a problem that affects a lot of people in our borough…and maybe that was the whole point of the argument?