Safer consumption and drug checking facilities key to addressing drug harms in Edinburgh, study finds

Glasgow Caledonian University substance use experts were involved in a study which showed that safer drug consumption facilities (SDCF) and drug checking could be key to addressing drug harms in the city of Edinburgh.

The study, commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, in the wake of concerns over drug-related deaths in the city recommends that SDCFs be set up in a number of locations, and that facilities and staff are equipped to address significant changes in patterns of drug use in Edinburgh.

Changing patterns of drug use in the city include: concerning numbers of people injecting cocaine; use of multiple drugs at the same time; and high levels of harm from the use of benzodiazepines, a class of depressant drugs usually prescribed for anxiety and insomnia.

Edinburgh’s “complex and variable” patterns of drug consumption mean SDCFs would need to do more than accommodate people injecting heroin, say researchers.

The study was led by the University of Stirling, in collaboration with Professor Andrew McAuley and Dr Kirsten Trayner, from Glasgow Caledonian, the University of Glasgow and Figure 8 Consultancy.

Professor McAuley, a Professor in Public Health in the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) Substance Use Research Group, said: “While much of the focus of safer drug consumption facilities has been on their implementation in Glasgow, this study has shown that their need extends to other parts of the country where drug harms are prevalent.”

Interviewees for the study - which included 22 people with living experience of injecting drug use, as well as families and professionals working in health, housing, treatment and other services – were strongly supportive of SDCF provision as part of a wider harm reduction and treatment response. They viewed SDCFs as non-judgemental spaces which could help signpost people towards services and treatment.

More than 200 SDCFs operate globally in at least 12 countries. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde plans to open an SDCF in Glasgow this year. Evidence shows they can reduce overdose risks, support safer injecting practices and provide harm reduction advice for people attending the facilities.

City of Edinburgh councillors will meet the researchers in March to discuss the SDCF study.

Dr James Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Stirling, said: “While safer drug consumption facilities are not a silver bullet, our study indicates they could provide vital support for marginalised and vulnerable groups in Edinburgh and play an important role in addressing the high levels of drug harms in the city.”