Kiwi party-goers planning to use drugs at summer festivals are being urged to get them tested.
For the first time in New Zealand history, drug checking services are free and legal for the entire summer period.
New Zealand Drug Foundation deputy executive director Ben Birks Ang says testing has never been more important as many drugs sold here are mixed with other substances or sold as something they aren't.
"Drug checking services are free and legal, and they give people the information they need to make safer decisions. Along with telling people what is in their sample, drug checking clinics provide a wide range of other harm reduction advice," he says.
"For many people accessing drug checking, this is the first time they've had a straight-up conversation about how to stay safer when using drugs."
Four drug checking service providers have been appointed under our new legal drug checking regime: The NZ Drug Foundation, the Institute of Environmental and Science Research (ESR), KnowYourStuffNZ and the NZ Needle Exchange Programme.
Birks Ang says that this summer, these service providers will be offering drug checking clinics in urban centres as well as at festivals.
They will also be working together to share information about dangerous substances that are found.
"Drug checking isn't just about reducing harm for the people who show up at the clinic. It can help us share critical information with the wider public about dangerous substances in circulation," Birks Ang says
ESR will be providing technical and training support to drug checking service providers, and drug chemistry team leader Hannah Partington says they play a "vital role in keeping people safe".
"Last summer highlighted the value of drug checking services when samples people believed to be a recreational drug, were tested by KnowYourStuff and turned out to be a different substance linked to serious harm events," she says.
"Getting a sample scientifically tested to check its composition and an opportunity to receive drug harm reduction advice can help people to make informed decisions about whether or how to use the drug and also keeps them and others around them safe."
Birks Ang says anyone can get their drugs tested anonymously, and any new threats in the market can be found on the High Alert website.
