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Scotland’s first drug-checking service for illegal drugs has now opened in Glasgow, with more sites due to open in Aberdeen and Dundee over the next few months.
The opening had originally been set for 5 October 2026 but was postponed, following what were described as “operational and technical complexities”.
The site is based at Hunter Street — the same location as the existing safer drug consumption facility, The Thistle, which opened in January 2025. The most recent data available on The Thistle shows that in October 2026, 1,506 people accessed the safer consumption facility, with 1,141 injecting episodes recorded.
On 9 November 2026, the Scottish government said that the new drug checking service is open to people aged 18 years or over who are dependent on one or more illegal drugs.
At the centre, people can submit samples to be tested for the substance, its strength and any contaminants, it said. The Scottish government also noted that people using the service will receive tailored harm-reduction advice based on the test results and will be offered wider conversations about treatment, recovery and health and wellbeing.
As well as providing support to people dependent on illegal drugs, samples taken at the service will be sent to Scotland’s national testing and research laboratory for drug-testing at the University of Dundee’s Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, it continued.
In addition, the Scottish government said: “This will contribute to wider intelligence about the substances circulating, supporting national early warning systems and public health responses.”
A drug-checking site is also being constructed in Edinburgh, which is due to follow the opening of the Aberdeen and Dundee sites, according to the press release.
Maree Todd, minister for mental wellbeing, public health, sport, alcohol and drugs, commented: “I welcome the opening of the site in Glasgow, which will provide vital information on the risks of emerging substances and help people make safer decisions and reduce drug harms.
“Scotland’s illegal drug supply is increasingly unpredictable, including the presence of highly potent synthetic opioids such as nitazenes in a range of substances. This makes faster identification of emerging drug trends more important than ever.”
“Our new alcohol and drugs strategic plan, backed by record funding, will strengthen surveillance, deepen links between treatment, housing and other services, and target support at the communities most at risk,” she added.
Data published by National Records of Scotland in September 2026 showed that drug use deaths in Scotland rose by 11% in 2025, to 1,133 recorded deaths.
A spokesperson for the Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm) Scotland said: “RCPharm is supportive of harm reduction approaches in tackling drug-related harms and deaths, and the opening of this drug-checking service is a positive step.
“We welcome measures that take a public health approach and improve surveillance of emerging drug threats, such as nitazenes. Pharmacy teams have an important role to play alongside partners across health and social care to reduce drug-related harms.”
