Drug Safety Testing in the UK: Outcomes of the first onsite drug checking service

The International Journal of Drug Policy has published an article by Professor Fiona Measham titled “Drug safety testing, disposals and dealing in an English field: Exploring the operational and behavioural outcomes of the UK’s first onsite ‘drug checking’ service”.  Drug safety testing involves members of the public providing samples of substances which are chemically analysed, with the results being provided in the context of a brief intervention with a health professional. Over a four day festival in 2016, 247 substances were analysed, and 230 brief interventions provided to around 900 people (approximately one in five drug-using festival goers).  One in five service users discovered their substances were not “as expected” and two thirds of those people chose to dispose of any remaining substances in their possession. There was a 95% reduction in drug-related hospital admissions compared with the year before onsite testing commenced.

Download “Drug safety testing, disposals and dealing in an English field: Exploring the operational and behavioural outcomes of the UK’s first onsite ‘drug checking’ service” (free full text available until 9th of January 2019)