Heroin addicts to get ‘injecting rooms’ and drugs on NHS

ADDICTS are set to be given heroin on the NHS in Britain’s first ‘shooting gallery’ – a supervised place to inject themselves with the drug.

Controversial plans were approved yesterday for the facility in Glasgow, raising the prospect that more will follow across the UK. The health board involved will develop a business case for the unit before giving the final go-ahead in February.

Calls to copy the Netherlands and Belgium and set up ‘shooting galleries’ have previously been rejected by ministers.

But the Glasgow plan has been justified as a bid to cut drug deaths.

Addicts will not be prosecuted and the unit could even have a creche, laundry facilities or somewhere for them to tie up their pets.

There have already been trials providing free heroin in London, Darlington and Brighton. However, research has shown that it has no impact on crime or their health, and users still take street drugs.

Lucy Dawe, of the Cannabis Skunk Sense charity, said: ‘This is tantamount to drug dealing by the state. I can’t see it’s going to reduce the number of addicts, it just gives them somewhere to go.’

The health board insists only a small number of addicts would be allowed heroin on the NHS. But Glasgow Tory MSP Adam Tomkins said: ‘Some will believe this is merely waving the white flag in the face of the war on drugs.’

Susanne Millar, of Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Partnership, said: ‘ We believe it will improve the health of the target population as well as benefit local communities and businesses that are currently adversely affected by public injecting.

‘People injecting drugs in public spaces are experiencing high levels of harm and are impacting on the wider community.’