Having been the norm in Holland since the 1990s, UK festival-goers may, for the first time this summer, be able to get their drugs tested on site without the fear of being arrested.
The initiative is being supported by Melvin Benn, the head of Festival Republic who run the likes of Reading, Leeds, V, Wireless and Latitude in the UK, and Electric Picnic in Ireland.
In an interview with The Guardian, Benn says they’re seeking the support of the National Police Chiefs Council for the scheme.
“We talked about it during the summer of last year and the reality is that I took a decision that unless and until the NPCC supported the principle of it, it was difficult for us to move forward on it,” he says. “We’ll see it this year for definite… at Leeds I’m pretty certain. It’s taken a long time and it won’t be at every festival, but where we think there is a need to do it we will be doing it.”
They’re hoping to partner with the Loop, a not-for-profit community interest company, which was the first UK organisation to alert people to the dangers of Superman PMMA pills prior to the death of four users.
“My research shows that MDMA crystal remains the most popular party drug amongst festival goers and clubbers but purity and contents can vary considerably in illegal markets,” reflects The Loop’s Fiona Measham. “When purity increases it takes a while for behaviours to readjust and we often see more problems. We want to keep people safe and advice as simple as ‘Crush-Dab-Wait’ could save lives.”
Crush-Dab-Wait refers to the testing process, which The Loop successfully road-tested at 2016’s Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire where over 200 samples were examined before being handed back to their owners along with the results and relevant harm reduction advice.
Responding to the news, the CEO of Dublin’s Ana Liffey Drug Project, Tony Duffin, says Ireland urgently needs to follow suit.
"We do need drug testing at the point of consumption – in places like festivals, clubs and so on,” he reflects. “Places where people go to take drugs. There are a number of formal drug testing initiatives in other countries that Ireland can learn from. These models should be investigated and drug testing services, suitable to the Irish context, should be implemented as a matter of priority."
While that will require a change to the existing laws, Ana Liffey are in an immediate position to provide Irish festivals with harm reduction services.
“We know that promoters are in no way complicit, but however hard they try to stop it there will be a minority of people who bring drugs with them to take at festivals,” Duffin resumes. “We’d like to work with them to provide sensible harm reduction advice beforehand on social media and then in leaflet form at events. The only cost to them would be the printing.
“Better still would be to provide a physical presence at festivals,” he continues. “In cases where people require assistance and counselling but not further medical treatment, we can work with the emergency services to help take some of the pressure off them. We always start with the proviso, ‘It’s better not to take drugs, but if however you decide to do so here is the information you need…’ The type of harm reduction advice we’re proposing is already in place at UK festivals like T In The Park and hopefully it’ll become the norm here too. If anybody wants more details they can contact me at [email protected] or Freephone 1800 78 68 28.”