A number of UK festivals are planning to offer drug testing to festival goers this summer. The idea is that people can take their drugs to be tested to find out exactly what’s in them before they take anything.
Organisers are hoping that this will help reduce the number of drug-related deaths at music events this summer.
Melvin Benn, head of Festival Republic, a subsidiary of Live Nation, announced the scheme and said he is waiting for support from the National Police Chiefs Council and West Yorkshire Police before launching it officially.
The way this scheme works is that people can take their drugs to a tent run by forensic testing firm The Loop, who will analyse the drugs and tell people exactly what’s in them. Any drugs handed over to The Loop will then be destroyed.
Mr Benn said that he is confident the scheme will be in place for this summer’s Leeds Festival, as well as a few other events.
It was actually trialled at Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire last summer, with 200 revellers taking their drugs to be tested during the event.
Andy Battle, assistant chief constable at West Yorkshire Police, told the Guardian that the force is considering lending its support to the initiative.
“We can never condone the use of illegal drugs, but we recognise that some people will continue to take them and we need to adapt our approach in the interests of public safety,” he stated.
Last year, the Mirror reported on research conducted by the US-based Coalition Against Drug Abuse which found that the most-mentioned substances at concerts and festivals on social media site Instagram were alcohol, ecstasy/MDMA and marijuana.
If you’re planning a summer festival, make sure you’ve got everything organised in good time – including your event water delivery.
