Drug room demand a distraction from real issue, says Tory MP

The Scottish Government’s repeated demands for a drugs consumption room (DCR) in Glasgow are a “distraction” from the wider issue of preventing deaths, a Conservative MP has said.

Justice minister Kit Malthouse was in the city yesterday to address a UK government summit on the growing number of drugs-related deaths across the country, a conference that coincided with the publication of a Westminster report which laid bare the social cost of the country’s drugs habit.

It was the second meeting on the issue to be held at the Scottish Event Campus in two days, with the Scottish Government hosting its own summit on

Wednesday. Holyrood ministers have said a DCR could reduce the growing number of addicts in the city who are contracting HIV from the shared use of needles – a proposal rejected by the Home Office.

About a third of all drugs deaths in Scotland take place in Glasgow, with HIV infection rates rocketing in recent years as addicts increasingly share needles.

But Mr Malthouse said the global evidence on DCRS was inconclusive and would not reduce the number of deaths taking place each day.

“We can’t pretend that DCRS are not legally very difficult,” he told a press conference.

“They involve the commission of several types of crimes and that presents us with a legal and legislative difficulty.

“The evidence from around the world is mixed. Even the most successful affect quite small numbers of people.

“I am concerned they are a distraction from the main event, which is fundamentally that there needs to be more concentration and resource on innovative treatment.

“Making sure we deal with complex and underlying health concerns is critical.”

Joe Fitzpatrick, the Scottish public health minister, said: “Hopefully having heard the powerful presentations today, Mr Malthouse is willing to change his mind and look at the evidence.”