Drug checking in New Zealand

When you arrive, a trained staff member will greet you and and ask what you have brought in to test. They will ask if you have ever had an unexpected experience with this drug, but answering is optional, and any information shared will be kept confidential.

1. The drug checker takes a minute sample of the substance – roughly 10mg, about a match head. Any pills are documented for size, shape and colour, so if it turns out to be something unexpected, others can be warned. If it's a tab, a small wedge will be cut out - usually less than a quarter.

You will be given a ticket, so you can choose to wait for the results, or leave and come back later.

2. Checking

There are two main testing processes:

• Reagent testing involves putting a drop of a chemical onto the substance and waiting to see if that chemical changes colour. Reagent tests are also sold at places like Cosmic. 
• Staff can also use an infrared spectrometer, which gives a very accurate result by matching the substance against a database containing hundreds of (legal and currently illegal) substances. 

Drug checkers record the results from both reagent testing and the spectrometer.

3.) Results are discussed and you will be offered personalised harm reduction advice. All staff are trained to have friendly, non-judgemental conversations about drug use. They will ask whether you intend to take the substance once you know what it is, but this is anonymous record-keeping to help us understand the impact of the service.

Sometimes we may ask to send the substance away for further testing with ESR.

Yes. 

Drug checking allows people to make informed decisions. Over the years we have found that when people are told their drug of choice is either not what they thought it was, or contains something else, more than half say they won't take it.

For example, in the summer of 2020/2021, 31% of MDMA checked turned out to be cathinones ('bath salts'). Overall, 25% of samples were not what people expected, and a further 4% were adulterated with some other substance.

When their substance was not what they expected, 52% said they would not take it. Those who still chose to take the substance often decided to use it more safely - for example, by not mixing it with other drugs or alcohol.

One of the first places to offer drug checking was Austria in 1997. Led by the Medical University of Vienna, CheckIt! provide services at festivals. Using a highly advanced GCMS, samples are numbered, analysed by chemists and then the results are displayed about 30 minutes later which everyone at the event can see. This set the basis for best-practice for festival based checking. Variations on this service are available in the Netherlands (DIMS), Portugal (ChEcK!N), United Kingdom (The Loop), and Switzerland (SaferParty) to name a few. Modes of drug checking can vary:

• on-site at festivals 
• at nightlife venues such as clubs and bars 
• fixed locations such as a needle exchange
• posting samples for testing.

Energy Control in Spain checks samples received by post. This is distinct from other services because it is not on-site and results are posted online. It allows anyone to access the service which may provide a better picture of the drug market.

Drug checking is one hundred percent legal in Aotearoa NZ. It used to operate in a legal grey area, but in 2020 there was a temporary law change, allowing drug checking services to operate over the summer. In April 2022 the temporary change was made permanent, legalising the entire process.

That means you can legally hand a substance to a volunteer or staff member, and it can legally be handed back again.

It’s no longer an offence to have drug checking facilities at an event, which means that event organisers can book licensed organisations like the Drug Foundation or KnowYourStuffNZ alongside medics as part of their health and safety measures. They can also publicise the service, so people know where to go and when.

Student's Associations are now running drug checking services at events like Orientation week, to keep students safer.

If a dangerous substance is found, event organisers can be informed and the public warned via High Alert. 

For more information, see KnowYourStuffNZ

Or you can read the full Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Act 2021 at the New Zealand Legislation website.

For upcoming clinics, see KnowYourStuffNZ-events or The Level - drug checking clinics