Campaigners urge Scottish Government to get on with setting up drug consumption rooms
The proposal has been caught in a legal wrangle between the Scottish Government and Westminster
The Scottish Government has been urged to "just get on" with drug consumption rooms despite concerns over their legality.
The facilities were first floated seven years ago, with Glasgow's health and social care partnership drawing up plans for one in a bid to stem problem drug use and HIV transmission in the city.
The idea is to allow drug users to inject under the supervision of medical professionals, and the facilities will also provide services to help people deal with addiction.
'Legal wrangle'
But the proposal has been caught in a legal wrangle between the Scottish Government and Westminster over prosecution waivers to drugs legislation that would make the process explicitly legal.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has been asked to consider if it would be in the public interest to prosecute people using drug consumption facilities.
Appearing before a joint meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, Kirsten Horsburgh, the director of operations at the Scottish Drugs Forum, said she believes the facilities could be opened now.
"It's been seven years since Glasgow made the compelling case for a safer drug consumption facility, something that we are still debating the pedantics of instead of just getting on and delivering it and dealing with any issues as they arise," she said.
Later in the session, she added: "We're not trying to re-invent the wheel here, over 100 of these services exist all over the world, they've been around since the 80s, they've got a good evidence base and absolutely I think we should just be getting on with it.
"I think any of the questions that come out from the Crown and the police can only be addressed once you start operating a service.
"That's what I mean (when I say) just get on with it, deliver it, there will undoubtedly be tweaks required to the service as it progresses, but in the same way as when needle exchanges were first introduced, there were issues around the first introduction of those and they developed over time to become what they are now."
Asked if she believes the UK Government will give the waiver, Ms Horsburgh said she thinks it will.
'Irrefutable' evidence
Drugs policy minister Angela Constance also appeared before the committee on Wednesday, where she said the evidence of the effectiveness of consumption facilities is "irrefutable".
She added: "They're not a silver bullet, but they save lives.
"The scale of the challenge in Scotland, we need all solutions at our disposal."
Ms Constance said both Police Scotland and the Crown Office are independent of Government, but added it is "encouraging" that the proposal sent to the Crown Office for consideration was backed by the Glasgow health and social care partnership and the police service.
Her officials, she told the committee, had met with the police, Glasgow City Council and the Crown Office on the issue in January, but she was unable to give a timescale for when the final decision may be made.
"I have done everything I can up to this point, and like everyone here I wait on the conclusion of those vital discussions between the Crown Office and the police and any decision that's forthcoming from the Lord Advocate," she said.
"Anything that I can do that's within my gift, I will do - because these work, safe consumption facilities work."
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: "Work is continuing with Police Scotland in relation to responding to the proposed site, and a related request for the Lord Advocate to consider making a focused statement of prosecution policy."
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