Certain Uk Nightclubs Will Provide Free-Drug Testing From 2017

Nightclubs in Preston, Lancahsire will be the first in the UK to introduce free drug-testing booths for substances such as MDMA and cocaine.

From the beginning of 2017, on Friday and Saturday nights, walk-in booths run by The Loop as part of their #crushdabwait campaign will be set up at city centre clubs in Preston.

Club goers will be able to use this service to check the safety of the substances they may have on their person to ensure they are not “adulterated or highly potent”. People who avail of this service will not be at risk of repercussions for possession of illegal substances and will not be required to give their names.

Lancashire police have reportedly given the scheme the go-ahead, while Commander Simon Bray, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for drugs, has said that said that recreational drug testing “may well be very useful”.

However, this scheme is unlikely to be implemented on a nationwide scale anytime soon owing to the complexity of the situation. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Bray said: “We are not at the position where we can endorse that [open drug testing] on a national basis, because there are all sorts of factors you have to consider.”

According to reports released earlier this year, the number of drug related deaths per year in the UK is the highest it has ever been, more than double that of countries like Switzerland where drug-testing is a central in harm prevention.

Critics of the scheme in Lancashire have claimed that the implementation of drug testing will only lead to the normalisation and furthering of drug use.