Published by: The Reasonable Adjustment | Author: Kieron JH
Peter Krykant, one of the UK’s most vocal drug policy reformers and overdose prevention advocates, died unexpectedly in June 2025 at the age of 48. A man shaped by hardship and driven by fierce compassion, his impact continues to ripple through both grassroots movements and government halls.
A Life Marked by Struggle and Purpose
Born in Falkirk, Peter began using drugs at the age of 11 and was injecting heroin by 17. His journey through addiction was brutal and personal – losing a brother, facing homelessness, and being caught in a system that punishes before it supports. But Peter survived, recovered, and refused to stay silent.
After years in frontline support roles, Peter made headlines in 2020 when he converted a white minibus into the UK’s first unsanctioned mobile drug consumption room. Equipped with naloxone, sterile equipment, and medical training, Peter parked the van on Glasgow’s streets and invited people inside – not for punishment, but for care.
The Yellow Van That Changed the Conversation
Operating outside the law, the van was controversial – but undeniably effective. It helped prevent overdoses, provided safer injection spaces, and gave marginalised people a chance to survive. Peter’s act of civil disobedience forced public officials to confront the realities of drug use, stigma, and failed policies.
Thanks in part to his activism, Scotland approved its first official safe consumption facility in 2023. Without Peter’s pressure, that milestone might never have happened. His work laid the groundwork for a national rethink on drug treatment and public health.
Public Praise, Private Pain
Tributes followed swiftly after his passing. First Minister John Swinney called him “a powerful voice on drugs policy reform” whose work “leaves an important legacy.” Scottish Green Co-Leader Patrick Harvie said Peter’s yellow van had “saved countless lives.”
But behind the accolades, Peter was struggling. His final social media posts showed a man in pain – reportedly begging outside St Pancras Station, surviving on £150 a fortnight, and feeling isolated. He was once the face of reform, but became increasingly invisible as his health and support systems fractured.
Writer Darren McGarvey and recovery leader Annemarie Ward later reflected on this contradiction: Peter was celebrated as a hero, but the deeper needs of his recovery were often overshadowed by politics, media, and the relentless grind of public campaigning.
More Than a Symbol
Peter Krykant was not just a headline or an icon – he was a human being. Flawed, relentless, vulnerable, brilliant. He was someone who turned personal pain into collective power, who stared stigma in the face and dared to say: not today.
His death raises uncomfortable questions. Why do we praise people like Peter after they die, but fail to support them while they live? Why do we celebrate activism but sideline recovery? And why are the loudest voices often the loneliest?
We Remember Him Here
At The Reasonable Adjustment, we remember Peter not as a perfect man, but as a necessary one. His work lives on in every naloxone kit handed out, every safe space opened, and every young person spared the cycle he endured.
His legacy is not just policy change – it’s a warning, a challenge, and a torch passed on.
Thank you, Peter Krykant. I sincerely hope you rest in peace.
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