Delay in tests for killer drug will cost lives

Call for action as new danger grows

- BY DAN VEVERS

FACILITIES to test if street drugs are laced with deadly synthetic opioids should be available in every community in Scotland, campaigners have urged.

It comes as rising numbers of suspected drug deaths and overdoses are being linked to lab-made drugs like fentanyl - which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin.

The opioids are so strong they can sometimes cause drug users to overdose instantly.

Pilot drug-checking services (DCS) at sites in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee have been proposed since last summer.

However, the plans which would allow drug users to test what's in their drugs have been in limbo for more than a year as the Home Office is yet to approve them. A bid was also submitted for Edinburgh this year.