Abused drug den Glasgow toilets prompts further call for safe consumption rooms in Scotland

Teams moved in to clear the disgusting interior on St Vincent Place last week after council bosses admitted the space was abused over the Christmas period. 

Shocking pictures showed the facility - which is just a stone’s throw away from some of the city’s finest dining restaurants, including the Anchor Line - scattered in used paraphernalia.

Discarded needles, burnt tinfoil and empty Buckfast bottles were tossed onto the floor of the unit while blood was pictured splattered across the walls. 

After the Glasgow Times highlighted the issue, cleansing teams were promptly sent in to clear the 20p per use public facility. 

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “On becoming aware of the condition of this facility, action was taken immediately to clean up and remove all debris.”

In June last year, we told how the same toilets were branded a “public health disaster” after images showed the space strewn with rubbish – including cider cans, nappies and deodorant cans.

The facility pictured in June 2021

Local SNP MP Alison Thewliss has since branded the scenes as “shocking” - adding that it is unsafe for members of the public and council workers to be exposed to used needles. 

The Glasgow Central representative repeated her case for safe drug consumption rooms in the city, arguing that drug misuse will continue in public spaces without them.

SNP MP Alison Thewliss (Image: House of Commons)

She said: “Scenes of needles and drug paraphernalia in a public toilet in Glasgow are shocking to see. I know, however, that these images will not be surprising to city centre residents and businesses, as well as those familiar with the scale of the drugs crisis we are facing.  

“I have been long making the case for safe drug consumption facilities in Glasgow because, without them, people who use drugs will continue to do so in public spaces which are both unsafe and inappropriate. 

“The pictures from St Vincent Street are a stark reminder that allowing this situation to continue is not safe for those who use drugs, and it is not safe for members of the public or council employees to be exposed to medical waste.”

In December, we told how there was one drug death recorded every day in Greater Glasgow last year.

There were 265 suspected drug-related deaths in the Greater Glasgow area for the first nine months of 2021 - which is an average of 30 every month.

Thewliss admitted that while a safe consumption room is not a “magic fix”, it could reduce the harm caused by drug abuse.

She added: “These figures are lower than the previous year but still unacceptably high. The UK Government’s ‘war on drugs’ attitude to drug policy is categorically not working, and a different approach is long overdue.

"It is true that safe drug consumption facilities are not a magic fix, but a good place to start in reducing the harm caused by drugs and helping people into recovery.”  

Council teams moved in to clean the facility

The Home Office revealed that the UK Government has no plans to introduce safe consumption rooms, adding that such services would lead to users and staff breaking the law. 

A spokesperson said: “We have no plans to introduce drug consumption rooms in the UK. A range of crimes would be committed in the course of running such a facility, by both service users and staff, such as possession of a controlled drug, being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug, knowingly permitting the supply of a controlled drug on-premises or encouraging or assisting these and other offences.

“The Home Office published a 10-year drugs strategy earlier this month which presents the whole-government response to drugs.

"It will drive down drug supply and demand, which includes supporting people through treatment and recovery and an even tougher response to criminal supply chains and the demand that fuels these illegal markets.

“We are concerned about the number of drug deaths across the UK, including the stark figures for Scotland, and we remain open to working closely with the Scottish Government to address this important issue.”