A former MP has called on governments to back controversial drug consumption rooms (DCRs) after taking part in an initiative that helps addicts take drugs safely.
Paul Sweeney, a former Labour MP for Glasgow North East, supports activist Peter Krykant's mobile DCR.
The politician has been helping out on a converted minibus in Glasgow city centre – despite claims he could be jailed for breaches of drugs laws.
However, Sweeney believes helping people who were going to take illegal drugs anyway should not put him in legal jeopardy.
He said serving addicts in Glasgow’s Possilpark has helped him realise the gulf between politicians, lawmakers and those on the impoverished margins of society.
And Sweeney has challenged both the Holyrood and Westminster governments to support the DCR formally – and take the responsibility away from volunteers and activists like himself and Krykant.
He said: “Peter and I have been working together over the last couple of months to unilaterally pilot safe drug consumption spaces in the city, a stone’s throw away from where people are otherwise injecting in filthy alleyways.
“This is no foolhardy publicity stunt. At a street level, if it saves one person from contracting HIV or dying from an overdose then it will have been worthwhile.
“But at a national level, it is issuing a brazen challenge to both the Scottish and UK Governments.
“Stop playing the blame game and get a grip of the tragic reality that is causing thousands of avoidable deaths in our midst every year.
“We need political bravery from the Scottish Government to truly test devolution’s power.
“What the Lord Advocate is being asked to do is state, publicly and in a way that binds the Crown, that conduct which the UK Parliament has criminalised and which could normally be prosecuted when it occurs throughout Scotland, will not be prosecuted if it occurs at the safe space.
“This sounds like a big deal but the Scottish Government is already doing it through legal frameworks for heroin-assisted treatment and needle exchanges. Why not take this next step when the benefits to public health are so obvious?”
He added: “I always found asking Government ministers a question in the gilded halls of Parliament about reforming antiquated drug laws to be a surreal illustration of how far removed the political decision-makers can really be from those who are affected most.
“Having never thought much about drugs policy, it was only after speaking to constituents who were either using drugs or in recovery from addiction that I began to realise current laws are not only ineffective but destroy lives and reinforce the monopoly that organised gangs have over this multi-billion pound industry.”
