Peter Krykant

Peter Krykant
Born(1976-11-13)13 November 1976
Died9 June 2025(2025-06-09) (aged 48)
Larbert, Scotland

Peter Krykant (13 November 1976 – 9 June 2025) was a Scottish drugs campaigner.

Biography

Krykant grew up near Falkirk in Maddiston, where he experienced sexual abuse. He used drugs from age 11[1] and started injecting heroin aged 17.[2] He was hospitalised with psychosis while stil in his teens.[3] He experienced drug addiction and homelessness. He overcame his addiction, married, and had two sons. He "worked successfully in sales for over a decade, first in Brighton, and later returning north of the border, where he subsequently trained as an addiction support worker".[1]

He came to public attention in 2019—while Scotland was "grappling with the highest drug-related death rate in Europe".[4] He had by this time been free of drugs for 11 years. According to UnHerd, "He aligned himself with You Keep Talking, We Keep Dying, a campaign spearheaded by Anne Marie Ward, CEO of campaigning charity Faces and Voices of Recovery, to push for urgent reforms in drug treatment and policy".[3] In 2020, he raised over £2000 through a fund-raising appeal[5] and converted first a minibus, then a former ambulance, to act as an unofficial safe consumption facility in which heroin users could inject themselves. The aim was to provide "clean water, needles and swabs, as well as supplies of naloxone, the potentially life-saving drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose".[1] This operated illegally for nine months,[6] and the UK government had refused to sanction the facility. By providing sterile facilities, he sought to eliminate bloodborne infections like HIV and avoid deaths from overdoses. A 2022 scientific study by academics from four institutions found that he "oversaw nearly 900 injections, successfully intervening in all nine overdoses that occurred".[7] Krykant was arrested in 2020; the charges against him were later dropped.[6] In 2021, as part of his campaigning he met with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland at the time.[8] He also stood as an independent candidate for the Scottish Parliament in the Falkirk East constituency that year, polling 971 votes (2.5%), coming fifth.[9] His campaign was filmed by The Guardian.[10]

In 2023, Scotland's Lord Advocate intervened to say that prosecutions for possessions of drugs in safe consumption rooms were not in the public interest.[11] This led to the creation of the Thistle in Glasgow's East End—the only controlled drugs consumption room in the UK—which opened in 2025.[12]

Krykant was found dead by police officers in Larbert, on 9 June 2025. He was 48.[2][13][1] UnHerd reported that his marriage had broken up, and that he had relapsed in recent years.[3]

Following his death, tributes were paid from public figures including John Swinney, First Minister of Scotland, who said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" and that Krykant had left "an important legacy which will be remembered".[13] Darren McGarvey said, "Krykant's legacy is assured, and he leaves Scotland's drug debate in a far better place than he found it".[3] Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said, "We can't underestimate the contribution he made to the drugs debate in Scotland, which came amid many years of increasing overdose deaths".

References

  1. ^ a b c d Brooks, Libby (20 June 2025). "Peter Krykant obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Drugs campaigner Peter Krykant dies, aged 48". BBC News. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d McGarvey, Darren (18 June 2025). "The dark truth about Peter Krykant". UnHerd. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  4. ^ Bunn, James (17 June 2025). "Peter Krykant". Drug Science. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  5. ^ Brooks, Libby (9 March 2020). "Glasgow activist risks arrest to set up drug consumption room in a van". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b "'Courageous' drug policy campaigner Peter Krykant found dead". The Independent. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  7. ^ Shorter, Gillian W; Harris, Magdalena; McAuley, Andrew; Trayner, Kirsten MA; Stevens, Alex (1 June 2022). "The United Kingdom's first unsanctioned overdose prevention site; A proof-of-concept evaluation". International Journal of Drug Policy. 104: 103670. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103670. ISSN 0955-3959.
  8. ^ McGivern, Mark; Shepherd, Jordan (12 June 2025). "Tributes paid to pioneering Glasgow drugs reformer after sudden death". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Peter Krykant - Candidate for Falkirk East in Scottish Parliament elections (Constituencies)". Democracy Club Candidates. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  10. ^ Cherry, Christopher; Shearlaw, Maeve; Lamborn, Katie; Guardian, Source: The (29 April 2021). "Scotland's drug deaths crisis: saving lives with an 'illegal' injection van - video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  11. ^ "'Not in public interest' to prosecute for possession in drugs consumption room". The Independent. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Labour refuses to back controlled drug use rooms despite ongoing pilot". The Independent. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Shock and sadness following death of Falkirk drug campaigner Peter Krykant at 48". Falkirk Herald. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.


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