Drug testing is becoming an increasingly common service at British festivals, but how does it work? We sat down with a leading expert from The Loop to find out...
Festival season has only just started, but there have already been two tragic drug related deaths at a UK festival this year. At last month’s Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth, Tommy Cowan, 20, and Georgia Jones, 18, lost their lives - and 13 more people ended up in hospital - after taking ecstasy pills that were three times stronger than the normal dose.
But what can be done to stop this happening again?
Realistically - despite the best efforts of police, security and worried parents - people are always going to take drugs at festivals, so simply preaching abstinence isn't good enough.
Thankfully, there are organisations working on more creative ways to solve this problem.
One such organisation is The Loop. Since 2013 the not for profit NGO have been offering free drug testing at festivals across the UK.
But how does it all work? What’s to stop you getting arrested as soon as you admit to having drugs on you? And what drug related red flags should we be looking out for this summer?
We sat down with The Loop's Senior Harm Reduction Officer, Chris Brady, to find out more...
How did The Loop start, and what was the initial response from festival organisers when you said what you wanted to do?
The Loop started in 2013 as a response to what we considered a lack of good harm reduction advice for people who use recreational drugs. At this time there was a big push from the government for drug abstinence but there wasn’t a great deal being done to reduce the risks for people already using drugs.
We started off doing a bit of welfare work at The Warehouse Project and Parklife Festival and began our first drugs testing initiative in 2014 at various events across the UK.For the most part festivals really support what we do.
How does what you do work legally? (Obviously it feels pretty counter-intuitive to be so open about the fact you have drugs on you!)
We work very closely with the local police whenever we’re at an event, and so far they’ve been massively supportive and leave us (and the festivals goers) to it.
People leave us a very small sample which is tested by our team of chemists. Then, when they come back for the results, they have a 15 minute harm reduction intervention with one of our trained health professionals where we discuss their general drug use, what risks they’re taking, and how they are able to reduce said risks. We’re very clear that all drug use does involve risk, and that we can’t make drugs safe.
If someone brings anything to our tent we never give it back, as that would be committing an offence. Outside of the tent normal rules apply and we make sure that people know if they are found with drugs on them once they’ve left, they are subject to the normal sanctions from the festival.
What is the most shocking thing you guys have found when testing drugs?
We’ve had all sorts; ecstasy pills made out of cocaine, malaria medication and methoxetamine being sold as ketamine (the latter being a similar drug that lasts a lot longer and is far more psychedelic). And then things like crushed up paracetamol being sold a cocaine and denture cleaning tablets being pressed into ecstasy pills.
If someone is planning to take drugs this festival season and testing isn't available, what advice would you give them?
The main thing I can say is know what you’re taking, which is why we’re really trying to push testing this season. If people are thinking of taking drugs to a festival it may be a good idea to invest in a home testing kit, or they could send a sample off to the Welsh Government testing service WEDINOS.
Otherwise start with a low amount, keep hydrated (we recommend sipping a pint of water throughout the hour to avoid over or under hydrating),stick with your mates and at the first sign of any problems get help. You’ll never get into trouble for being unwell.
And finally, are there any particular red flags people should be on the lookout for?
The thing we’re most worried about at the moment is a drug call N-Ethylpentylone which is being sold as MDMA. In the short term you get the euphoria of MD but then that gives way to paranoia and anxiety, with most people being hospitalised after suffering from psychotic episodes.
Red flags are difficult to identify though because drugs vary in strength between batches so there’s no consistency.
If you're concerned your own drug use or the drug use of someone you know, please reach out to one of these organisations...
