Scotland’s first local drug-checking service is due to open in Glasgow in October, the Scottish Government announced. People who use drugs will be able to submit samples for rapid checking and receive harm-reduction advice alongside the results.
How it works
Samples taken in Glasgow, and later at other sites, will be sent to a new national testing and research laboratory hosted by the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee. The government says fuller analysis there will feed a national early warning system so services can respond faster to emerging substances.
Other cities
More than £1.7 million has been invested in the pilot programme. Aberdeen and Dundee have received Home Office licences for similar services, and a fourth facility in Edinburgh is preparing its licence application.
The minister’s view
Drugs Minister Maree Todd thanked Glasgow partners and said drug checking will help people make safer decisions in the face of an increasingly toxic supply.
