Life inside Europe’s drug death capital: ‘Dying would be better than my £1,000-a-month heroin addiction’ | UK news

It’s a freezing morning in East Glasgow and the only thing on Chris’ mind is how quickly he can get his first fix.

He walks down the street brandishing a needle in the air, while cars and vans drive through the housing estate. The syringe is full of brown liquid.

“20ml of heroin for £10,” he shouts, as he boasts it took less than ten minutes to get.

A 41-year-old former painter and decorator, Chris explains how his nearly two decades of crime and drugs began after his mother was murdered in 2007. But he is clearly distracted and increasingly desperate. “I just need to wear this,” she says, holding up the heroin.

He walks to a makeshift drug den in the corner of a supermarket parking lot. Buried deep in the bushes, it is strewn with blood-soaked needles and drug paraphernalia: one trip and there would be a serious risk of contracting a dangerous infection.

Chris doesn’t blink. He sits on top of a crushed gas can covered in dirt and mud, the syringe full of drugs held between his teeth as he pulls down his pants.

“It’s really disgusting to have to do this,” she cries, a nod to the lack of dignity in this deeply personal moment.

He points and pulls at the skin on his leg and groin, desperate to find an area to inject himself. Silence falls as the drugs enter his system.

A stone’s throw away, a new government facility is about to open, allowing addicts to bring their illegal narcotics and bring them under medical supervision, without fear of police arrest.

the “safer drug use room‘, which will be the first of its kind in the UK, is how authorities are trying to tackle drug deaths and clean up the streets. It is due to open in the coming weeks.

Scotland has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe Last year, 1,172 people died from drug misuse, according to data from the National Records of Scotland. This is an increase of 121, or 12%, compared to the previous 12 months.

Opioids, such as heroin, were involved in 80% of the deaths. I Glasgow is at the center of the epidemic.

‘No trust’

Officials believe the project could lure people like Chris off the alley and into a sanitized clinical environment.

Chris speaks eloquently and passionately – and sometimes bluntly – about his life on the streets. Just two days before I saw him for the second time, the tent where he lives caught fire.

He is no saint, nor does he pretend to be. Nicknamed ‘Macka’, he reveals he funds his £1,000-a-month drug habit by shoplifting from high street retailers.

Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

But he has not yet been convinced by the government’s plan.

“I think if you’re in that area? Yes,” he says.

“But do people really think it’s a scam? I don’t think there’s that level of trust.”

A controversial idea

Since 2016, when the idea of ​​a safer drug use ward in Glasgow was first mooted, there have been six First Ministers, three First Ministers, endless debate and more than 8,000 Scottish drug deaths.

It is a common feature in some other large European cities that have claimed high success rates in saving lives.

But the idea is controversial and not cheap. Up to £2.3m has been locked up each year for riders in various Scottish cities, depending on the ‘success’ of Glasgow.

This is a political decision and comes in the context of reduced services in other areas amid reduced budgets.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up to date with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

tap here

The big test will be whether or not the deaths decrease, and how it will work alongside the work of law enforcement.

Opponents of the idea fear it could downplay the dangers of the drugs, while diverting vital resources from treatment-based approaches.

The Home Office previously said there was “no safe way to take illegal drugs”.

But in response to concerns that the center could become a “crime magnet” with drug dealers looking to take advantage of vulnerable people, NHS officials in Glasgow said: “The international evidence would suggest that it is unlikely to happen if the service is well managed.”

For some people on the street, it might be too late.

I ask Chris if he ever considers whether this might be his last.

He replies, “To be honest mate, that would be a blessing. What’s my life like right now, dying? Dying seems like a better life.”