While the concerns of users purchasing drugs mixed with other dangerous, sometimes lethal substances are continually growing, a U.K. charity organization came up with a different approach to solving this problem.
Their idea was to open a clinic that will offer a drug-testing service in which all drug buyers that are older than 18 years will be able to test the quality of the drugs they have purchased without fear of being arrested.
As an unnatural cause of death, drug overdoses and abuse are recoding rising numbers every year.
Many of the drugs prone to abuse do not even have a clear composition, as drug dealers tend to mix them with other opioids and substances with the purpose of making more profit.
However, this is a much bigger issue among young adults who haven't been trained on how to recognize quality.
This ultimately grants the dealers with having total freedom with creating mixtures and compounds they later put up for a sale.
Buying drugs today is easier than ever. Not only you can buy it on the dark web, or by calling your local dealer, but you can also buy drugs on Instagram and Tinder as well.
With the large numbers of drug purchasers come a large number of vendors for various drugs, who more often than not are not educated on how to properly mix multiple drugs.
As a result, compounds such as cocaine cut with fentanyl, fake Xanax, and dangerously strong ecstasy, all have been linked to a number of deaths over the past few years.
In an effort to reverse these statistics, the U.K. Home Office gave the green light to the clinic that will provide drug-checking services.
The Drug Testing Clinic
Starting this February, the clinic for drug testing is currently opened for anyone who wants to test the content of the drugs they purchase.
The charity Addaction is running the program. They assure to provide testing of the drug content within a short span of 10 minutes.
Because of the fact that many deaths are caused by improper combinations of drugs and synthetic opioids, the clinic will provide a quick and valuable test that will inform the users about the chemical structure of their purchases.
Led by the belief people will always take drugs, the clinic does not have any intention of going after the drug users or dealers.
Their goal is to save the lives of those who are determined to use drugs anyway.
According to Addaction's director of pharmacy, Roz Gittins, checking the content of drugs is a "sensible and progressive way" to inform the buyers about the risks they are taking by using a specific compound.
Knowing exactly what you consume, as Gittins believes, makes you more aware of the potential harm it can cause.
While waiting, visitors will complete a short survey to be tailored to the advice of harm reduction. For doing such tests, the clinic also assures there is no risk of being arrested.
This, notably, is not the first project of this kind in the United Kingdom. As Dark Web News has reported, drug safety organization The Loop is also running services regarding drug testing at music festivals.
The new Addaction project is run in partnership with The Loop as well as Hertfordshire University.
This clinic is the first government-licensed drug testing service.
