After at least six UK music festivals vowed to allow drug testing during 2017 events, there is now a call for drug test services at all UK festivals and clubs.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) wants festival-goers to party more safely after strong ecstasy has resulted in “serious health harm,” and rising drug deaths.
The Secret Garden Party and Kendal Calling festivals in 2016 piloted the testing, in what the founder Freddie Fellowes calls “a wide success.”
“If it’s a good idea in one place it’s a good idea everywhere,” he told BBC Newsbeat.
While there’s no national roll out to implement the testing, Kendal Calling, Secret Garden and now Boomtown are confirmed to offer drug testing in 2017. RSPH hopes more festivals and even clubs join in, as on-site testing would help flag dangerous substances.
“The rise in drug-related deaths at music festivals and nightclubs is a growing problem for policy makers, health authorities and events companies alike,” says Shirley Cramer, the chief executive of RSPH.
“While the use of stimulant ‘club drugs’ such as ecstasy can never be safe, and RSPH supports ongoing efforts to prevent them entering entertainment venues, we accept that a certain level of use remains inevitable in such settings. We therefore believe that a pragmatic, harm reduction response is necessary.”
Source: BBC Newsbeat