- News
The Loop Begin Drug Testing at Two Major UK Venues
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By Ryan Moss
- 19 Nov 2024
- 5 min read
Harm reduction charity The Loop has been granted a new Home Office (HO) licence to begin back-of-house drug testing at two of the UK’s major electronic music venues this year.
London’s Drumsheds and Manchester’s Depot Mayfield, home of the Warehouse Project, will feature The Loop’s HO-licenced mobile laboratories on site. They will operate during opening hours, aiming to test substances rapidly and accurately and disseminate test results with the primary aim of reducing drug-related harm.
The charity says that changes in the drug market have made the “rapid-real real-time testing offered by the Loop more important than ever with drug-related deaths at the highest on record and set to increase further”. It also went on to discuss the rise and risk of synthetic cathinones, cannabinoids and opioids.
The Loop’s work is non-public facing and operates by testing substances confiscated at the door and inside venues and amnesty bins. They first began back-of-house testing in autumn 2013 at The Warehouse Project and at Parklife Festival in 2014. In 2016, they introduced the first event-based drug testing services at Secret Garden Party and Kendall Calling Festival.
Drug testing at festivals was prevented last year for the first time since 2014, which prompted several artists, festival industry professionals and cross-party MPs to write to the then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman requesting that the decision be overturned.
The Home Office then granted licences for back-of-house testing to continue at festivals, stating that “organisations wishing to deliver back-of-house drug testing must apply for a Home Office licence to operate responsibly”. This meant charities like The Loop could continue their work.
Speaking about the new licence to test at Drumsheds and The Warehouse Project, Katy Porter, CEO of The Loop, said: With our drug testing being completed at festivals, a seasonal industry, we have been concerned that this does not go far enough in maintaining regular drug intelligence across the UK, and importantly throughout the year.
The introduction of our year-round onsite testing into a venue in both London and Manchester will provide intelligence for real-time risk management and harm reduction information that can be quickly shared with the public, other venues and wider stakeholders to reduce the potential of significant harms.”
The move has also been backed by Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), whose CEO, Michael Kill, said: The NTIA wholeheartedly supports The Loop’s pioneering initiative to expand onsite drug testing. This programme represents a groundbreaking step forward in our shared commitment to enhancing public safety within the nightlife sector. The rapid changes within the UK’s drug market, including the rise of synthetic substances, have underscored the urgent need for informed, real-time responses.”
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