Drug checking in New Zealand

When you bring a substance to be checked, you will receive a one to one service and will witness the testing process which takes up to 15 minutes. Trained volunteers will test a minute non-returnable sample of your stuff. 

1. A pin-head sized sample is divided into three tiny piles

• You will be asked to do this yourself using a tool provided
• For pills, you can shave a minute amount from the side
• For tabs, one tiny pizza slice is required which takes a sliver comprising the centre area of the tab.

2. Two piles are tested with reagents

• These are acids that change colour if certain substances are present  
• Pills and powders are tested with Marquis and Mandelin reagents
• Tabs are tested with Ehrlich’s reagent.

3. One pile is tested using Alphie, our FT-IR spectrometer

• An FT-IR spectrometer compares your sample against a large database of known substances
• This takes a few minutes and can detect the presence of unexpected substances, adulterants or additives. It does not measure purity.
• Tabs (paper) and plant material cannot be tested in an FT-IR spectrometer.

4. Results are discussed and you're offered tailored harm reduction advice

• At the end you are asked whether you intend to take the substance. You can answer honestly as this is just for our anonymous record keeping to help us understand the impact of the service.

Yes. 

Drug checking lets people make a more informed decision. At festivals during 2017/2018 in New Zealand, 20% of samples were not what people thought they had. A further 11% of samples were adulterated with other psychoactive additives.

When the substance was different to what was expected, 52% did not intend to take it and 11% were uncertain. When presented with additional information about the substance they had, people often made safer decisions about whether they would use it or how they would use it.

For those that intended to use a substance despite discovering it was not what they expected, they often had used the substance previously and knew what to expect. Even for this group, they commented on being more considered and safer with the substance which included not using other drugs or alcohol at the same time. 

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. These are often small services that face similar legal barriers as we face in New Zealand. 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.

The Misuse of Drug Act 1975 (MoDA) means that drug checking exists in a legal grey area. 

Under Section 12 of the Act people are liable if their premises (this includes your hovercraft apparently) is knowingly used for an offence, including possession or use of a "controlled drug". This puts festival organisers at risk of prosecution because drug checking acknowledges what we all know – people use drugs at festivals. Volunteers providing the service are also at risk because even though they avoid handling substances it is unclear whether testing tiny samples amounts to possession.

Replacing MoDA with a health focused drug law could address these legal barriers. At the very least, a small amendment to the Act could protect harm reduction services from prosecution.

Unfortunately KnowYourStuffNZ does not publicly confirm where the service will be available. This is because it operates in a grey area of the law and it does not wish to draw undue attention to festival organisers who are doing what they can to keep attendees safe. But there's no harm in asking KnowYourStuffNZ privately on Twitter.