Last Saturday (27th Jan ’24) saw a historic day in Bristol, the start of a regular drug testing service operating for the first time in the U.K. 12 years in the making, festival drug testing pioneers We Are The Loop have teamed up with Bristol Drugs Project to deliver this service. They will continue to do so on the last Saturday of each month.
Prohibitionist (might) argue testing encourages use, criminal behaviour & normalises drug use. There’s moral panic, “What message does this send out to people?”
Supporters of drug testing services would say the message to service users is, we care about you.
Drug testing is an innovative & pragmatic harm reduction strategy for those who choose to use/experiment. Identifying content, & in many cases strength is the No. 1 goal, from which service users get to make an informed choice about whether &/or how much to take.
There are other benefits too. Testing provides an insight into the immediate drugs market, identifying trends, content, adulterants, bulking agents & strength – real world & real time data gathering. Social media alerts about substances of concern are posted to inform both local & the wider community.
Service users have a short interaction with professional health workers before getting the results of their tested substance(s). I’ve observed these interactions. They are relaxed, friendly & non-judgemental. The service user is asked about what they like to take, the frequency, setting & any harm reduction strategies they may adopt. The health worker can give guidance about harm reduction strategies if none are used. I saw a 2-way exchange of information that benefited both parties. For many service users it’s the first time they’ve interacted with health professionals.
The whole experience is a win for all who participate.
The power of drugs testing was laid bare at an event in Sydney, Australia recently, where nitazenes had been identified in MDMA. Organisers temporarily stopped the event & a DJ address the crowd to alert them. Kudos to them for such open honesty, demonstrating as I mentioned above that they care about their attendees. (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/31/when-a-seriously-ill-sydney-raver-set-off-alarm-bells-a-dj-stepped-in-to-avert-a-nightmare-scenario)
Testing saves lives.
scada-southwest.com 