DOUGLAS Ross will seek to get the backing of the UK Government for a pilot "drug consumption room" in Scotland in a meeting today.
The Scottish Tory leader said he would be raising the possibility of a trial programme when he speaks to Kit Malthouse this afternoon.
Ross dropped his opposition to drug consumption rooms over the weekend and urged the Home Office not to stand in the way of them being set up, in a major reversal of party policy that risked enraging rank-and-file Tory members.
And he appeared to go further in his tentative support when he spoke to reporters after visiting a community centre in Glasgow earlier today with the First Minister where they spoke with people who had overcome drugs misuse.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross says he has never taken drugs and has led a 'sheltered life'
"I will be speaking to [Policing Minister Kit Malthouse] later on today," he said.
"Like me, he still has significant reservations about drug consumption rooms. He's keen to engage with the Scottish Government on this and see what can be done in terms of a trial obviously."
He added that the Lord Advocate has "brought forward a different interpretation" from her predecessor saying that a pilot would not necessarily need the approval of the UK Government. However, he said it was still useful to continue to work with the UK Government on the issue.
Ross is planning to bring a Right to Recovery Bill into Holyrood which would give drug users a legal entitlement to receive addiction treatment.
The First Minister has not said whether the Scottish Government would support it or not and has previously told Holyrood she would want to examine its proposals before making a decision.
On the other hand the UK Government have previously been opposed to drug consumption rooms - where people can take drugs such as heroin in supervised environments - arguing they sanction drugs misuse.
Ross said his change of views had been brought about by speaking to people involved in working with people with drug addiction issues and that "drastic action" is required to tackle the drugs death crisis.
"Annemarie Ward of FavorUK has done a lot of work on this. And I am working closely with Annemarie on a Right to Recovery Bill."
READ MORE: Drug consumption rooms back on Scottish Government's agenda
More than 1300 people died of drug misuse in Scotland in 2020, the seventh year in a row with a record high. It means the country continues to have the highest drug death rate in Europe.
The Scottish Government has called for the introduction of drug consumption rooms citing evidence to say their introduction in other parts of Europe has helped reduce drug deaths.
Speaking at Holyrood earlier this month Deputy First Minister John Swinney said SNP ministers are "actively exploring" how to open drug consumption rooms.
His intervention came after Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain suggested that it may not be in the "public interest" to prosecute people using and operating such facilities.
Earlier today Nicola Sturgeon has said Scots fighting addictions can't afford to wait on MSPs passing laws to end the country's drugs deaths scandal.
The First Minister spoke out while making an unprecedented joint visit to a community initiative in the east end of Glasgow with Douglas Ross.
The leaders of the SNP and Scottish Conservatives visited the Bluevale centre in Haghill to speak with members who have managed to get themselves off drugs thanks to local support.
The joint visit came about after Sturgeon and Ross repeatedly clashed in parliament over how to respond to the fact more people in Scotland die from drugs than anywhere else in Europe.
Sturgeon said she would consider the Conservative proposals when they were published but insisted the issue couldn't wait for MSPs to pass bills.
READ MORE: Priti Patel called out for attack on Scottish councils over asylum work
She said: "People have a right to recovery and for that to be meaningful it has to have the right services and the right investment in place.
"The debate about the bill is whether the right to recovery should be encapsulated in law.
"I've said I'm open minded about that. The bill hasn't been published, but when it is we'll look at it with a fair mind and support it if we think if it will add to this.
"What I'm certain about though is we should not wait for the often long and laborious legislative process concludes before getting on with the work now that will give a right to recovery meaning and substance.
"Because it's the substance of a right to recovery - much more than whether it is in law or not - that will make a difference to people's lives with drug issues."
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