The University of Dundee will host Scotland’s National Testing and Research Laboratory, a vital new instrument in the battle to reduce drug-related deaths in the country.
The new Laboratory will be housed within Dundee’s Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) and will analyse samples provided to it through a consortium of point of care facilities which are being established in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
Scotland has one of the highest drug death rates in the developed world. In recognition of this, the Scottish Government launched a five-year National Mission to reduce drug related deaths and harms. The National Testing and Research Laboratory is a key component of the strategy and will allow a comprehensive understanding of what drugs are circulating across Scotland.
The Scottish Government chose LRCFS to host the new facility in recognition of its leading expertise in the identification of illicit substances and the role it plays in researching and investigating the risks of emerging drug threats.
LRCFS researchers work across national and international external stakeholders around the detection of psychoactive substances, including a long-standing collaboration with the Scottish Prison Service investigating drug trends within Scotland’s jails.
Professor Niamh Nic Daeid, Director of LRCFS, said, “ We are very pleased to be able to support the Scottish Government’s National Mission to reduce drug related deaths. The National Research and Testing Laboratory will provide information and research about the types of drugs circulating in Scotland that will inform colleagues and communities working to reduce drug deaths across the country.”
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Announcing that the National Testing and Research Laboratory will be based at Dundee, Drugs and Alcohol Minister Maree Todd MSP said, “The University of Dundee has a strong reputation for forensic science and reaching this agreement, along with the licence approval for the first drug-checking site, are vital steps in our National Mission on drugs.
“It is particularly important in light of the current dangers posed by new synthetic opioids like nitazenes which raise the risk of overdose and death. Often people who use drugs are not aware of exactly what they contain. That is why we have consistently impressed upon the UK Government the importance of giving drug-checking facilities the go-ahead.”