Cole-Hamilton to visit The Thistle and set out plans to tackle drug deaths

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP will tomorrow (Thursday 23rd October) visit The Thistle Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Glasgow, where he will set out his party’s plans for combatting the harms caused by drugs and tackling Scotland's drug deaths crisis.

To give Scotland world-class drug services by 2030, Scottish Liberal Democrats are committing to:

• Roll out a Scotland-wide network of safer drugs consumption facilities, continually learning from Glasgow’s experience while recognising the inherent risk to life elsewhere.
• Introduce a multi-year funding model for all drugs and alcohol services, giving them the certainty they need to invest in facilities, recruit staff, build up relationships with service users, boost access to care and open up new pathways to education and employment for people in recovery.
• Use the funding secured by the party in the 2025/26 Scottish Budget to rapidly delivering the new Mother and Child Recovery Houses- residential rehabilitation beds for mothers and babies affected by substance abuse- and new intensive community-based perinatal services.
• Work with Police Scotland and the Lord Advocate to allow accessible pill checking.

As at the end of September, The Thistle Safer Drug Consumption Room was used by 400 people more than 6,000 times since it opened. This has meant that professional staff have been available to address 56 medical emergencies at the facility, most of which have been managed internally.

The latest figures show that there were 607 suspected drug deaths in the first six months of 2025.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The Thistle has built a proven track record of keeping people safe and supporting them into recovery, so I am very pleased to be visiting the centre and meeting with staff and all those who depend on its lifeline services.

“Scotland’s drug deaths crisis is a national tragedy, which is why my party have long called for radical action to stop people dying.

“It’s why we fought so hard to secure additional support for new mothers and their babies born addicted to drugs, but we are not stopping there.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see facilities like The Thistle rolled out nationwide. We would introduce multi-year funding for all drug and alcohol services so they can plan for the future and meet demand. We want to see the government moving faster on pill-checking services and ensuring equal access to them across the country.

“We need a realistic plan to stop people dying.”