A new report issued by UK’s The Health and Safety Executive National Social Inclusion Office (HSE.ie), has advised the country’s government to trial a new system for testing drugs at music festivals.
Those researching the report took data from Festivals in Ireland, and has collected information over a number of years. In 2021 they did a study that revealed that 94% of respondents had taken drugs at a festival, and that more than a quarter had fallen ill as a result of their usage.
In the report, the new anonymous test system has been nicknamed “back of house” drug testing. The system would test drugs dropped in amnesty bins or substances confiscated by event security. So, at no point do the testers ever come into direct contact with the users, like they would at a “front of house” system, where people voluntarily take their drugs to be tested.
It appears that the intent is to get a more detailed look at overall drug quality and get a better assessment of how many unsafe batches there actually are. Depending on the results, this information could provide evidence of why front of house testing is deemed important, and apply pressure for the government to provide funding.
HSE.ie prepared two 2019 front of house drug testing proposals schemes for trial at festivals in Ireland, but those “were unable to proceed due to legal issues.” The new back of house idea will apparently need less formal policy modifications, so will be easier to legally implement in accordance with the UK’s Department of Justice.
According to the paper, this method could also provide an anonymous and safe drop-off site, where health officials can also be on site to give advice to the event organisers, and provide safety information if a dangerous batch is discovered through testing.
When experts were researching into their report, they described festivals as a “risk-taking environment” where attendees are more likely to experiment with illegal drugs.
Some of the things sited in a report as a cause for concern is the “increased purity and potency” of things like high strength MDMA. It references an increased use of other illegal substances such as ketamine, 2-CB and GHB.
Researchers found a high level of willingness among people to engage with drug-testing services, and they concluded “that drug checking is a beneficial prevention and harm reduction measure that should be considered as an extension of current health structures. A pilot project is recommended in a festival setting initially through a ‘back of house’ approach.”
It then continues: “Should the pilot evaluation of a ‘back of house’ system prove positive, a comprehensive front of house approach should be considered.”
H/T: Mixmag
