Could drug testing at gigs work?

Bars, chip vans and portaloos are all common sights at classic outdoor gigs in Northern Ireland.

But in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, some also have dedicated facilities that allow for the rapid testing and identification of harmful drugs and substances.

Police this week warned about the "serious, potentially life-changing, risks of taking or supplying illegal drugs" at outdoor music events.

Belfast City Council recently called for testing services to be brought in, but issues about laws and funding have resurfaced.

So, with the rising levels of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland, concerns around drug-related anti-social behaviour in city centres, and calls for a "rethink" when it comes to tackling illegal drugs, is it time for drug testing?

Samples of drugs are sent away and substances tested for their chemical make up and strength - but there are differences in how the results are communicated back to the public.

Some festivals in GB and the Republic of Ireland operate "back-of-house" testing. That's where substances, either found in searches or deposited in amnesty bins outside, are tested.

If something potentially dangerous is found, a warning will go out to festival goers and health officials on site.

Authorities and organisations who operate drug testing, as well as festivals, are clear they don't condone or encourage drug-taking, rather it is a harm reduction method.

Licences to operate services in Britain are given out by the Home Office, but in Northern Ireland licencing is devolved meaning the responsibility rests with the Department of Health's (DoH) Medicines Regulatory Group.

There's also "front-of-house" testing where individuals bring their substances to get tested and are not given them back.

Councillor Micky Murray brought a motion to Belfast City Council earlier this year calling for a pilot of drug and pill testing facilities at major events.

"We've always dealt with [drugs] as a policing issue but it's not a policing issue, we need to deal with it as a healthcare issue," he told BBC News NI.

"It's never worked, so it's time that we start something new."

There was pushback to harm reduction messaging published by the Public Health Agency earlier in the summer, with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart stating: "The only responsible message on illegal drugs is simple: don't take them."

But Murray said not supporting harm reduction methods was putting people at risk.

"This isn't going to increase people taking drugs and increase life-long drug taking. What this will do is prevent deaths, prevent enormous harm to people which could be prevented by having the information on hand," he added.

"What we're doing now without giving people the information they need is doing more harm than providing them with the information that they need to make safer decisions."

In June, a report on the motion concluded there is "no legislative framework, funding mechanism or operational model in place" that would allow the council to run such facilities.

It added DoH officials advised no formal application for a licence has ever been received and there are a range of issues that would need to be addressed before it is considered.

DoH told BBC News NI it stands ready to support the council but "remains conscious of the resource, licensing, and legislative implications".

Some have argued such facilities normalise drug taking. But there are some who think they are vital.

Georgia Jones, 18, died following a cardiac arrest and a 50-minute fit after taking two MDMA pills - found to be roughly six-times stronger than usual - at Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth in 2018.

Her mum, Janine Milburn, said while she was aware her daughter had tried drugs before, she thinks testing services could have helped.

"In my eyes, it gives people another barrier so they decide they're going to take a substance, they maybe haven't done it before or only done it a couple of times, they don't really know what they're doing," she said.

"It gives them a professional to go to, but it also gives them another chance to say I'm not going to do it now."

Janine now runs a harm reduction charity, Georgia Jones Don't Go With The Flo, and often speaks to young people about the effects of drugs.

"They get all their information from movies, songs, from peers, so they're not getting that correct information and this is what is really damaging them," she added.

"Even if they're not taking it, they'll maybe be around people who are so they need to be given this information.

"Georgia took two pills and was found to be six-times over what you would expect to find, so it's these high doses and not necessarily the drug itself."

The Loop already operates at some festivals in England as a harm reduction method, and tests surrendered substances "in real time" to find out what is in circulation and inform attendees and health officials within minutes.

Its Chief Executive Katy Porter, said they accept people are taking drugs but neither "condemn nor condone" it.

"We need clear information in order to equip people from a public health point of view to be able to make informed choices and informed decisions," she added.

"Every year there are a number of deaths within festivals and these are preventable."

In the last six months, tests on MDMA pills by The Loop have shown it's not the adulteration of substances that is causing concern, but the variable high strengths.

"One thing we want to get across to people is one pill is not a single dose, and when choosing to take them, you won't know the strength. They might look similar, but without testing we're unable to understand just by sight or looking at them what that strength is."

It's also a trend Professor Eamon Keenan from Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE), is seeing.

The HSE's Safer Nightlife Programme involves back-of-house testing at festivals like Electric Picnic, and Keenan said there's been great results so far.

"Since we've started producing the harm reduction messages, there's a lot more trust and confidence from the young people who are happier to engage with our volunteers," he said.

From festival testing alone, Kennan said the HSE have got about 300 samples which has resulted in 14 risk messages being sent out and substances never before seen in Ireland being identified.

Keenan said the "bottom line" is that it is safer not to take drugs at all.

"But we're living in a reality where we do know that people take drugs, and its our job to identify the substances that are circulating and then advise people in the risks and harms associated with these drugs."

The reported successes are a blueprint of how services should roll out in Northern Ireland, expert Professor Anne Campbell said.

Campbell, from the Drug and Alcohol Research Network at Queen's University Belfast, said while drug testing exists in Northern Ireland, the results aren't circulated to the wider public.

According to Campbell, wastewater analysis shows a sharp rise in ketamine and cocaine being used in Northern Ireland - and the current laws promote a prohibitionist messaging.

"It's not helpful to tell people not to take drugs because we know that it does not work and we know from those within our treatment populations its definitely not working because of the rise in deaths year on year," he said.

"I think you need everybody to have a stake in this and really have an understanding as to how positive it can be."

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