“It is still illegal to have safe consumption sites, which puts us out of sync with most Western countries,” said Mr. McAuley, whose research group will evaluate the Glasgow program . “Glasgow is arguably the most compelling case for a drug consumption site. ”

Austin Smith, a policy officer at Scottish Drugs Forum, a national resource of expertise on drug use issues, said, “This part of the law was to stop people opening up opium dens and was never intended to stop safe services, but that is what it does.”

More than 100 supervised consumption services have been established in countries like Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland and Germany, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York-based organization that campaigns to end America’s “war on drugs.”

A report on Scotland’s drug problem that was released this month by the British Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee endorsed the treatment method.

“Safe drug-consumption facilities are proven to reduce the number of drug-related deaths and can act as a gateway to further treatment,” said Pete Wishart, the committee’s chairman. “Every drug death is preventable, and these centers could play a vital role in addressing Scotland’s drug crisis.”

Scotland’s drug problem has worsened in recent years, and official statistics indicate that drug-related deaths there are at a record high. Fatal drug overdoses have been highest among older users.