Scottish and UK governments to host separate drugs conferences a day apart in Glasgow

The Scottish Government has announced a major drugs conference in Glasgow - the day before the UK government is due to hold a drugs summit in the city.

Public health minister Joe FitzPatrick has announced a major drugs conference.

In a move which seems to underline the dysfunctional relationship between the two governments, the Scottish Government will host an event in conjunction with Glasgow City Council on February 26 in the SECC.

The announcement comes after public health minister Joe FitzPatrick accused the UK government of organising a drugs summit for February 27, also at the SECC, “without any consultation with the Scottish Government and Glasgow”.

On January 24, the UK Government said it would host a Glasgow summit on “tackling drug misuse” with “drug recovery experts, health professionals, ministers and senior police officers from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”.

Mr FitzPatrick said he had asked UK government ministers “repeatedly to meet to discuss this issue and to attend a summit we were organising” and was "very surprised" at the announcement "without any consultation".

Now, the Scottish Government has revealed its drugs conference will take place the day before, and as it will be led by people with "lived experience" it will "feed in" to the summit the following day.

Sessions will include contributions from Mr FitzPatrick and Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow council and the government has said discussions "will help inform Scottish input" into the UK Drugs Summit the following day.

There will also be training in the use of Naloxone which reverses the effect of an opiod overdose and a demonstration model of a safer drug consumption facility.

Mr FitzPatrick said: “What Scotland faces in terms of drug deaths is nothing short of a public health emergency. The UK event, while welcome, simply does not have the voices of people with lived experience in Scotland at its heart. We’ve pressed the UK government to extend their event to accommodate this, but this has not yet been forthcoming.

“We’ve been clear that the views and insights of people with lived experience must help shape how we tackle the high number of drug deaths in Scotland. As a result, we are working with Glasgow City Council to host a Scottish summit on the eve of the UK event to try and better highlight the problem in Scotland."

He added: “It’s clear the Misuse of Drugs Act is no longer fit for purpose. To enable innovations, such as a safer drug consumption facility, the law needs to change. We hope the UK Government will listen to the call from Scotland to make the necessary changes in the law to allow this to happen.

“At the Scottish event we will also discuss the recommendations of recent reports including those of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee enquiry into drug use, the Dundee Drugs Commission and the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee.”

Councillor Aitken said that drugs were a "public health emergency" in Glasgow and "no option to tackle the rise in drug deaths should be off the table".

“Where we have the power to innovate, such as Scotland’s first Heroin Assisted Treatment programme, we do. Glasgow is ready to pilot a safer drug consumption facility. We know that it is an intervention which will help protect the public and help save lives.

"We want to work constructively with both governments to find a solution, so we can put one in place. We hope that a workable plan is an outcome of the summits taking place in the city.”