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UK’s first regular drug checking service could open in Bristol
The UK’s first regular drug checking service could begin in only a few weeks’ time in Bristol.
More than a dozen free and confidential sessions could be hosted over a one-year period, offering drug users the chance to submit a sample of a substance and receive the results detailing its content and purity following a forensic analysis.
The proposed service is due to be decided on by Bristol’s cabinet on May 10, and if approved the service would open its doors for the first time on May 28 as well as operating before events such as festivals.
is needed now More than ever
Drug checking services have operated successfully across Europe for four decades and have been piloted in the UK since 2016.
Drug users in Bristol were able to have their drugs tested in a pop-up lab in the city centre and the next day at Love Saves the Day festival at Eastville Park in 2018, at a pilot scheme by not-for-profit community interest company The Loop.
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Read more: Bristol to become first UK city to provide drug safety testing
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Cabinet lead for public health, Ellie King, Communities, and Bristol One City said that the proposals put forward “an innovative approach to saving lives and reducing harm to our communities”.
She said: “It’s important that we don’t ignore the fact that drug use is happening and take a two-dimensional approach to this subject.
“Whilst this service doesn’t take anything away from work underway to support those with substance addictions, it will provide communities with access to factual, scientific, evidence-based information about drugs they may consume and that may be in circulation throughout the wider city.”
King said that alongside the proposed one-on-one trained healthcare consultations, people will be empowered to make safer and more informed decisions.
She added: “Bristol is leading the way in this public health approach to keeping people safe around drugs and shows that, as a city, we put our people’s wellbeing at the forefront of decision making.”
Main photo: The Loop
Read more: BBC series Drugsland shows the dark side of Bristol
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