In places where illicit injections are common, building managers are regularly installing anti-drug lighting systems in an attempt to dissuade drug users or force them to go elsewhere.

Using blue light systems is not new, with the BBC reporting that a Huntingdon supermarket had installed them in its customer toilets as early as September 2003, but most public spaces have to balance comfort and effectiveness.

This means that the best places to fit anti-drug lights are relatively private spaces where injection drug use is not uncommon and could potentially therefore act as a deterrent. 

The Most Common Anti-Drug Lighting Locations

Anti-drug lighting is most effective when installed in areas that are not out in the open, where a needle drug user is unlikely to want to be conspicuous, and in areas where other types of surveillance are suboptimal.

Public Toilets

The most common location is bathrooms that are accessible to customers or the general public, both public toilets and those available in shops, bars, restaurants and hospitality venues.

The idea behind this is that by making injections more difficult to achieve by making it harder to spot veins, drug users will be discouraged and will go elsewhere.

Whilst some will try anyway or will find a vein by touch rather than by sight, it can do enough to deter or at least delay a potential drug user.

Bars And Nightclubs

Because they tend to have relatively low lighting and unusual sightlines, it is possible, albeit still somewhat risky, for a drug user to attempt to use in a quiet place in or around a nightclub.

A blue light would also help to make it more difficult to see the various pieces of drug paraphernalia (such as needles or vials), and slow down an injection, which could make it take longer or be a riskier injection, dissuading attempts in public places.

Stairwells

Stairwells are typically very dark, small and secluded, which makes them prone to drug use without blue lighting or other potential deterrents.