Don't give addicts drug test centres.. just give them hope

Relying on harm reduction is 'dangerous path'

- BY JOHN FERGUSON

A FORMER addict turned campaigner has warned against plans for drug testing facilities across Scotland without hugely increased investment in rehabilitation.

Annemarie Ward, CEO of Faces and Voices of Recovery UK, believes any benefit from the proposed service is "unevidenced", and that they risk "normalising drug use".

It comes after the Scottish Drugs Forum called for centres to be opened across the nation where users can test whether street drugs are laced with deadly synthetic opioids.

Scotland's drug death statistics remain shockingly high and a number of drug deaths and overdoses are being linked to lab-made drugs such as fentanyl up to 50 times stronger than heroin.