Minister visits National Testing and Research Laboratory

Ms Todd visited the University on Monday 23 March to view progress on the new centre, which is due to be fully operational by July. It is hoped that the new Laboratory will prove to be a vital new instrument in the battle to reduce drug-related deaths in the country.

The facility is 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. 

The National Testing and Research Laboratory 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, “The Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee provides a national capability for Scotland in forensic science research, development, innovation and leadership.  

“We are committed to working with the Scottish Government to reduce drug deaths across Scotland. Using our expertise, knowledge and analytical capability in the identification and characterisation of controlled substances we will provide direct support to the point of care facilities across the four city sites and to the people of Scotland in this most important work.”

While NRS statistics show a drop in drug deaths, there remain challenges relating to drug and alcohol harms in Scotland. The Scottish Government earlier this month published a new plan to reduce harms caused by alcohol and drugs.

The joint Scottish Government and COSLA plan aims to improve collaboration between government and grassroots delivery with a locally led, accountable system, guided by clear national direction and support.

Backed by more than £160 million in 2026-27, the plan builds on the Scottish Government’s five-year National Mission on Drugs which ends in April.

Drugs and Alcohol Minister Maree Todd MSP said, “The Scottish Government has invested more than £1.7 million to deliver Scotland’s first pilot drug-checking project, which includes the National Testing and Research Laboratory at the University of Dundee. 

“My thanks go to all the staff at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science who are working hard on this pioneering service. This collaborative initiative shows the real strength of Dundee’s forensic sciences research and I am pleased the Government is supporting this.

“Often people who use drugs are not aware of exactly what they contain and an increasingly toxic drugs supply has recently seen Public Health Scotland using the RADAR drugs early warning system to issue alerts and highlight new threats, such as nitazenes and street benzos.

“This new drug-checking service will play a vital role in helping to identify these and strengthening our response to save and improve lives.

“I am also pleased that, as well as the progress at the national lab, the local point-of-care facilities in Dundee and Aberdeen, which will undertake testing on the ground, and provide samples to the main lab for more complete analysis, have received their Home Office licences.

“The Glasgow site, which received its Home Office licence in October 2025, is now in the set-up phase, and the Edinburgh site is preparing its licence application. We are working with all local partners to get these services up and running as soon as possible."