The Scottish government is set to pioneer its first drug testing site in a major harm reduction milestone.
Glasgow is set to become one of the first major cities in Scotland to approve the opening of an official drug testing facility, marking a major step forward for UK drug policy.
This comes after decades of lobbying by harm reduction groups and activists who demand that drug users have the right to not only know what they are taking, but have access to unbiased harm reduction advice.
The new facility will be located at the Hunter Street Health Centre, in the east end of Glasgow. It will allow users to bring pills, powders, and other substances to be professionally tested for potentially life-threatening contaminants.
The Scottish government has pledged £1 million towards this pilot scheme, and applications have already been submitted to expand similar services to Aberdeen and Dundee.
A fourth potential facility in Edinburgh is currently preparing its application. This rollout follows a separate announcement in January confirming that Bristol is set to host the UK’s first official stand-alone drug checking facility, aimed at educating users and saving lives.
While fatal overdoses invoke images of drugs such as opiates, like heroin, or black market methamphetamines. However, public health experts warn that even so-called ‘party drugs’ like ecstasy, ketamine, and cocaine in the UK can be contaminated with nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids that can be nearly 500 times the strength of heroin.
Originally developed in the 1950s as potential painkillers, nitazenes were never approved for medical use due to their extreme potency. Although structurally unrelated to other opioids, they have been found to suppress the respiratory system in a similar, and often times more lethal way, meaning that even a small dose can be fatal.
For many residents, the opening of the new test centre marks a monumental shift in how the city tackles harm reduction. We spoke to Olivia, whose name has been changed for anonymity, an East End local who occasionally uses recreational substances on a night out.
“It’s been a bit of a controversial topic between people here. I think people still believe that everyone using drugs is some kind of addict, but that’s not always true,” she says.
“Most of us just want to know what we’re taking and not end up in A&E or worse because what we’re taking has been cut with god knows what. It’s not about encouraging people to take drugs, it just makes it safer for people who are.”
Drug-related deaths soared to a 32-year high in 2024, with 5,565 reported in the UK, and figures from Scotland showing 76 nitazene-related deaths, this real threat to drug users shows no sign of slowing.
Public Health Scotland reported that just three months into 2025, 38 further deaths have occurred, putting this year on track to see almost twice as many people dying due to the drug.
Although overall statistics for drug deaths in Scotland decreased by 13% from 2023-2024 overall, they still remain the highest in Europe.
The legalisation of drug testing centres represents not only a vital move toward life-saving harm reduction services, but also a long-overdue shift away from the UK government’s historically punitive approach to the war on drugs, which has often criminalised users while ignoring the root causes of addiction, such as environmental factors, genetics, mental health struggles and trauma.
Dorothy Bain, the country’s top law officer, has emphasised that users of the sites would not be prosecuted for simple possession offences, and the UK government has agreed not to intervene with the scheme.
Although drug laws are set at Westminster, Scottish courts will be the enforcing power for this new scheme. The former drugs and alcohol minister for Scotland, Christina McKelvie, told the BBC that this is a ‘welcome milestone’ for the country.
“Most of us just want to know what we’re taking and not end up in A&E or worse.”
OLIVIA
“Drug-checking facilities would enable us to respond faster to emerging drug trends – which is particularly important given the presence of highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply. These increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death, and are being found in a range of substances,” McKelvie said.
Separately, the Scottish government has announced a further testing facility that will be housed in the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee.
A pledge of a further £1.5 million will make it possible to analyse samples collected by local test centres, to monitor emerging trends and identify synthetic narcotics entering circulation.
“We are very pleased to be able to support the Scottish government’s national mission to reduce drug-related deaths,” said Professor Niamh Nic Daéid, director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee.
“The National Research and Testing Laboratory will provide information and research about the types of drugs circulating in Scotland that will inform colleagues and communities working to reduce drug deaths across the country.”
As Scotland moves forward with this pioneering harm reduction strategy, a clear message is being sent: saving lives must take precedence over outdated retributive models.
The combination of scientific testing, data analysis, harm reduction and rehabilitative public health policy marks a hopeful shift in how both society and governments address drug use, treating it as a public health issue as opposed to a criminal one.
Glasgow’s pilot scheme could serve as a blueprint for the rest of the UK, offering a more informed, safer, and humane approach to a crisis that has claimed millions of lives.
Featured image by the Food and Drug Administration via Wikimedia Commons.
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