The Report of the Independent Working Group on Drug Consumption Rooms (Paperback)

The UK has the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe. This high rate of deaths, alongside problems such as blood-borne viruses, serious local infections and needles discarded in public places, reflects the fact that injecting drug use exacts a considerable toll on individuals and communities in the UK. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation set up an Independent Working Group which considered a range of evidence over a 20-month period as to whether Drug Consumption Rooms, where users are allowed to safely inject their illegally-obtained drugs, could have an impact on these problems. This balanced report documents the findings of the group and calls for careful experimentation with this new approach which, while being introduced in an increasing number of countries abroad, has so far not been adopted by the UK Government. The group argues that Drug Consumption Rooms should decrease the number of overdose deaths in the UK, improve the health of users and reduce the number of discarded needles. This major new title takes a new and different approach to the management of drug use and will make interesting reading for all those concerned with drugs and their effects.