'We've saved lives' - Drug checking service marks two years

A New Zealand drug testing agency says its services saves people's lives.

It has been two years since Aotearoa's world-first law change came into effect allowing drug-checking organisations, such as the Drug Foundation and Know Your Stuff, to work legally at festivals.

Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said the availability of drug testing and early warning systems have been vital in preventing harm and fatalities.

Hato Hone St John event risk and specialist team manager Glen Hoult said his teams were noticing a clear reduction in patients presenting to their festival medical tents with drug-related harm.

"In my opinion, I think the drug checking has had a significant impact on that," Hoult said.

"Know Your Stuff and the Drug Foundation, anecdotally, well their work is helping to reduce our workload too, so during the really busy New Year's period, we can concentrate on helping other people that haven't taken recreational drugs."

Across the board, alcohol intoxication was more problematic than drug intoxication, Hoult said.

"Simply because of its availability and the acceptance socially, that it's okay to drink alcohol and it's okay in people's minds to drink to excess."

How testing works

The testing services are free whether the client is at a festival, a pop-up clinic or a permanent clinic. A sample, roughly the size of a matchstick head, is tested using an infrared spectrometer.

Know Your Stuff general manager Casey Spearin said about one in 10 samples were not what they were sold as or thought to be.

"Occasionally, these can be more dangerous substitutions so drug detection is very important," Spearin said.

"We can't tell people the purity of the substance, however, as the machines are only accurate to about five percent of the sample."

Depending on how busy the team is, it usually takes about 20-30 minutes to get the results.

The results go into a shared database and a team member chats to the client about their sample.

Non-judgemental harm reduction advice

Spearin said drug testing was about ensuring the client had all the information they needed to take the drug in the safest way possible. Or, to not take it at all.

Know Your Stuff said more than 50 percent of people said they would not take their substances if it proved not to be what they thought it was.

"The drug testing provides us with the opportunity to have a conversation with them about their planned drug use, discussing things such as information on dosage, how they're going to take it, possible dangerous things to watch out for, like reactions or interactions with medication or other drugs they may plan on taking."

From April 2022 to March 2023, 86 percent of the 4000 samples tested by Know Your Stuff were what the clients thought they were.

The advice given after the test provides the client with peace of mind and tools to look after themselves and their friends.

Spearin and Helm echoed the same sentiment that during the drug testing service, most people will say it is the first time they have had an honest conversation with anyone about drug use.

"It's a really good chance to open that door and people usually have lots of questions," Spearin said.

"Certainly for me, the only education I got was DARE, which told us not to do drugs, they will kill you and ruin your life.

"However, we find a lot of people who have had that abstinent-based education are going to try drugs at one point."

Helm said when there was a concern about a certain substance, drug testing organisations would then put the information out on High Alert, the early warning system.

Demand more than capacity

Know Your Stuff and the Drug Foundation said the amount of samples they had been testing was increasing.

The Drug Foundation ran 91 testing clinics this year, an increase from 73 last year, testing almost 2000 samples.

Spearin said this was largely due to their increased effort to get out into different communities and offer pop-up clinics, as well as festival work.

Since 2021, the number of spectrometers in the country has grown from five to 13, with two new government-purchased machines being rolled out for the first time this New Year's.

But the demand for drug testing services remains more than their capacity, especially over the New Year's period.

Know Your Stuff will be at Wanaka's Rhythm and Alps, but there are not enough spectrometers.

Helm said people had an appetite to look after themselves.

"And we're not aware of any growth in drug use, which is one of the things people were concerned about, rather there's a growth in demand for our services, more than we can provide."

Saving lives, changing conversations

"We absolutely know that we've saved lives with the work that we've done," said Helm.

"Last summer, at RnV (Rhythm and Vines) for example, we picked up several samples that had come from different parts of the country that were meant to be LSD but had turned out to be a very unpleasant drug called 25B-NBOH, which can have quite deadly effects, so we know that we have saved lives."

Helm said the increased public dialogue about drug testing was changing the conversation around drugs.

Shelley O'Dwyer and Hyme Gunnell's youngest son, Jacob Gunnell, died while under the influence of LSD.

His family are still waiting for a toxicology report, but O'Dwyer has wondered if the LSD her son took was laced.

"We were told he was hot and clammy, calling a woman by a man's name, not acting like himself, and hearing that made me think, well was that drug not okay?," O'Dwyer said.

Jacob's death happened just before Rhythm and Vines, where the toxic 25B-NBOH was found during the Drug Foundation's testing.

His parents have started a fundraiser in his memory to support drug checking at music festivals and beyond.

"I was thinking what can we do to help others, because we can't bring Jacob back, but we can help other families," O'Dwyer said.

Look after yourself and your mates

His mother is writing to the coroner with a recommendation for a "buddy system," named after Jacob's favourite cat.

"The idea is, that if someone is taking drugs, they should be doing it in a safe environment with friends. And if something goes wrong, there's a number they can call," she said.

"That could have been the difference, Jacob could have survived."

Hoult said the Hato Hone St John medical tents were safe zones for anyone feeling ill effects from drug use.

"They can come and seek help from us in whatever means they need.

"Sometimes it's just to talk to us, and other times it's for treatment for the adverse effects of recreational drugs, and we want to make sure they can come and do that without feeling like there's a police presence that can come and prosecute them or they feel afraid to come in and see us."

Know Your Stuff has commissioned research into the direct effectiveness of on-site drug-testing agencies on reducing drug-related harm.

*To find a free, legal and confidential drug checking service, visit The Level. Drug testing kits are also available from specialty shops.