Drug testing at festivals should broaden earlier than summer season 2024, Home Office instructed
A devoted licensing scheme for drug checking at festivals ought to be established earlier than the subsequent summer season pageant season, together with the ability to grant licences to native authorities, the report on medicine revealed on Thursday mentioned.
Allowing festivalgoers to check medicine for unsafe substances with out worry of authorized ramifactions helps to cut back overdosing and even deaths, occasion organisers argue.
This summer season UK pageant drug testing suppliers have been instructed by the Home Office they’ve to use for a Controlled Drugs Licence, which prices greater than £3,000 and takes three months to course of.
This is regardless of drug testing at festivals happening since 2016 below the permission of native authorities and police, pageant organisers say.
Some have been notified by the Home Office with out time to use for the licence earlier than the pageant, with organisers frightened about festivalgoer security.
The United States, Australia and components of Europe have already got established drug checking providers.
Festival organiser Sacha Lord is asking for the Home Office to introduce a bunch authority licence to related testing suppliers.
Drug-check suppliers The Loop have been instructed simply hours earlier than Manchester’s Parklife pageant in June that it wanted a Home Office licence, particular to a named, everlasting premises, to function its regular on-site testing.
That regardless of the charity finishing up “back of house” testing at festivals–the place medicine are voluntarily submitted for security testing quite than seized–since 2016 below the permission of native councils and police, Mr Lord mentioned.
He has taken legal action against the Government in response, and urged the Home Office to legalise pop-up testing at festivals and night-time occasions with out the necessity for a everlasting constructing.
He argued that with out the availability of drug checking, the danger of drug-related harms or overdose at festivals may enhance.
He instructed the Standard: “I think I speak for everyone across the industry when I thank the Home Affairs Committee for stepping up where the Home Office has failed on this issue.
“Before this summer, we collaborated with police and back-of-house testing firms to limit both the circulation of drugs and the harms of any dangerous substances that slipped through the net. The Home Office made the decision to stop all that – and then stuck its head in the sand.
“This report sets out a roadmap for the Home Office to fix its mistake and ensure lives aren’t put at risk by its U-turn. Events organisers and staff, as well as parents and punters, will be grateful to finally see some political leadership on this issue.”
The Home Office mentioned there was no change in its place and for the previous 50 years, drug checking suppliers should have a licence from the Home Office to check managed medicine, together with at festivals.
But the Home Affairs Committee report mentioned: “Back of house testing has been operating at festivals for a number of years through memorandums of understanding between local stakeholders, including the police and local authorities.”
In that point The Loop has delivered healthcare consultations to greater than 10,000 individuals.
The committee mentioned it could “monitor the situation as it develops” and acknowledged that assist for drug checking providers has elevated in recent times amongst politicians.
The report mentioned: “The primary aim of drug checking is to reduce drug-related harms. This is done through the provision of healthcare advice from medical professionals to the individuals who have submitted samples and/or via the dissemination of health warnings to the wider public— for example, to festival-goers.
“Countries, such as, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada, Austria and Australia have established drug checking services.”
In 2019, the Health and Social Care Committee really useful providers be established at festivals and in night-time economies.
In 2021, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee really useful {that a} devoted drug checking licensing scheme be established.
But the Combating Drugs Minister, Chris Philp MP, has mentioned that “illicit drugs are harmful and there is no safe way to take them” and that drug checking providers may subsequently give a “false impression that illicit drugs may be safe” or may “condone drug use, which would be counterproductive to [the Government’s] aim of reducing illicit drug use”.
Research carried out by The Loop on its drug checking providers discovered that drug checking lowered drug use and poly-drug use the place the outcomes on the content material of the drug weren’t what the particular person anticipated.
The Loop CEO Katy Porter instructed the Standard: “The Loop drug checking service welcomes the report and the continued focus on the value of drug testing and drug checking in the UK.
“This provides an ongoing opportunity to ensure broader understanding of the implementation and impact of drug checking as a public health intervention, working with government departments, the police, health services, local communities and most importantly, directly engaging with people who use,or are considering using, drugs.”
A Home Office spokesperson mentioned: “There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities, and we have no plans to consider this.
“Our 10-year drugs strategy set out ambitious plans, backed with a record £3 billion funding over three years to tackle the supply of illicit drugs through relentless policing action and building a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people’s lives around and prevent crime.”