Published
Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 09:00
- The service, which began last Saturday, will run until 2027.
Drug-checking charity The Loop has launched the UK's first drug-testing service in Bristol.
The scheme, a collaboration with the Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) and Bristol City Council, opened last Saturday, January 27th. It's free and government approved, meaning users can access the service anonymously on the last Saturday of every month by surrendering substances of concern into an amnesty bin at the BDP headquarters between midday and 7 PM.
The substances will then be tested in a mobile lab to check whether they're cut with harmful agents. Results from the lab–provided an hour later by health professionals–will help users make informed decisions about their consumption. The service also provides naloxone, a drug for reversing opioid overdoses, as well as clean needles and other supplies.
The goal is to reduce drug-related medical incidents, overdoses and hospital admissions. Fiona Measham, founder of The Loop and chair in criminology at Liverpool University, has been working towards establishing a legal, licensed drug-checking service for the last 12 years. Plans were originally in place to deliver the service last May but it fell through.
Speaking to Resident Advisor, Measham said 95 percent of The Loop's users had never spoken to a health professional about their drug use. She said the service will be "an effective way to access and engage with hidden populations and directly distribute harm-reduction advice and alerts."
According to Measham, it's "particularly important right now" to identify contaminants in circulation. This is because synthetic opioids like nitazenes "have been detected in UK supplies of opiate, benzodiazepine and even ketamine–which the NCA estimates is leading to two deaths a week."
There were almost 5,000 drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales in 2022. The Loop introduced the UK's first public front-of-house drug checking service at festivals in 2016 and in city centres in 2018. But last year, the government U-turned on drug testing altogether, ruling that organisations like The Loop had to apply for a license.
Bristol's new drug-testing service is scheduled to continue until 2027. Data collated from the testing will be shared with emergency services, drug services, drug-using communities and Bristol City Council. Measham said there are also plans to roll out the service across other UK cities.
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Photo: The Loop
Correction, February 2nd: A previous version of this article said that front-of-house drug testing at festivals began in 2015. It was actually 2016, followed by city centres in 2018.