The first drug checking service in London has been launched by The Loop, the charity has announced. The initiative, which is funded by Camden and Hackney councils and supported by the Metropolitan Police, will offer ‘rapid chemical analysis of substances of concern’ alongside personalised health advice.
The service will also be able to collect information on drug market trends to share with local communities, the police, health services and the hospitality and events industries. The Loop, which has been carrying out drug testing at festivals and events for more than a decade, launched the UK’s first regular drug checking service in Bristol in early 2024. Both the Bristol and London services are licensed by the Home Office.
The new London service will ‘aim to reach and work with people at all stages of dependency’, the charity states, offering non-judgmental support from health professionals. ‘The organisation is clear that no drug use is without risk, but that better understanding of substances of concern in circulation benefits individuals, communities and emergency services by reducing the harm caused by potentially dangerous drugs,’ it says.
A report published last month by researchers at King’s College London stated that limitations in postmortem toxicology testing meant that the official number of deaths related to nitazenes in the drug supply had likely been underestimated by ‘up to a third’, while Public Health Scotland also recently warned anyone using street drugs to assume they are contaminated with other substances.
‘Drug markets are more dangerous than ever, with increasing numbers of potent synthetic drugs in circulation across the UK,’ said The Loop’s founder and chair of trustees, Professor Fiona Measham. ‘Drug checking can play a unique role in countering these threats, acting as the “canary in the coalmine”. It tests, identifies and communicates these risks rapidly and directly to local services and local communities. Drug checking reduces drug-related harm, which reduces the burden on emergency services and the NHS.’
The project marked a ‘major step for harm reduction in the UK’ added the charity’s CEO, Katy Porter. ‘Hackney and Camden are the first of several London boroughs we are working with, alongside further cities. This launch represents another important shift toward evidence-based health interventions at a time when drug deaths in England are at an all-time high.’