Thread by @GPDPD_

Drug checking is a #harmreduction tool aimed at combatting the dangerous consequences of illicit #druguse. However, some critics say that it actually promotes drug use – but they’d be wrong!

Let’s find out why 👉💡🧵:

First of all, consuming illicit substances from the black market comes with huge risks: unknown dosage and purity, the presence of unexpected (potentially dangerous!) adulterants, and the constant influx of new, unresearched chemicals. #DrugChecking directly combats these risks.

But what exactly is drug checking?
It is the chemical analysis of substances which, according to the @EMCDDA, allow drug users to receive “information on the content of the samples as well as advice, and, in some cases, counseling or brief interventions.”

According to TRANSFORM DRUGS bit.ly/3iiOPV4, drug checking "has a rich history spanning over 6 decades" & can also come in many forms & models, sometimes combining peer-to-peer support, addiction counselling, & public awareness campaigns.

Drug checking services can also be found in many contexts, sometimes in state-funded health facilities, through mail-in testing services, or even at parties or festivals where partygoers can have their drugs immediately tested to know what’s inside, before using them.

All this is performed through chemical analysis, often with laboratory equipment or even take-home "reagent" test kits. Regardless of the means, though, all these services provide direct information on a drug sample’s potency (strength) and what’s actually inside the sample…

…helping users discover if there are dangerous, hidden contaminants in the drugs, or to know that the drug truly is whatever drug it was sold as! If you recall, this directly targets some of the previously highlighted risks. But does this actually #encourage drug use?

While drug checking services do influence behaviour, it does not encourage drug use. On the contrary, research indicates that by providing this essential information about a drug’s contents, drug checking services encourage safer behaviour! To elaborate:

A 2021 systemic review of drug checking services ("Addiction" journal), found that drug users in a variety of contexts were more likely to abstain from use, delay their use, seek more info, dispose of their drugs, or take less because of drug checking. Particularly true…

…when the analysis revealed that the drugs were "questionable" or "suspicious". Likewise, the study reported that those who intended to use less of a substance were less likely to overdose: directly combating one of the greatest health risks of illicit drug use!

To recap: drug checking services do not encourage drug use, but rather encourage informed decisions which directly translates to safer behaviour and combatting the effects of illicit drug use!

But it doesn’t stop there: drug checking services also represent a key tool for researchers and policymakers to monitor drug trends and risks.

For example one drug checking service located in #Vienna, 🇦🇹 called checkit! shares its results with the rest of the tedinetwork.org, an alliance of other European drug checking organisations, to help monitor trends and data analysis in collaboration with the @EMCDDA.

In a similar vein, a 2016 study in the Journal of Drug Policy was able to gain insight on illicit drug quality sourced specifically from online cryptocurrency markets; this demonstrates the range of creative insights that drug checking services can help researchers achieve!

On a different note, drug checking services help us respond to new threats in the drug market, such as contamination by #fentanyl in the #USA, which has strongly contributed to the #overdose crisis which killed roughly 107,000 individuals in 2021, reports the CDC.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance fentanyl-specific drug testing strips are being used to "test for the presence or absence of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in the illegal drug supply" and are "inexpensive" and "easy to distribute". Read more 👉drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-ch…

Okay, let’s begin to wrap this up! Remember: drug checking has a widespread beneficial impact on data monitoring and #Health and safety of drug users - while positive influencing drug users behavior for the better.

The opinion that drug checking services encourages drug use is misinformed and misled - just like the misled opinion that providing condoms promotes sexual behavior, rather than safer sexual behavior.

Ultimately, drug checking helps keep people informed and safe, while directly counteracting the harms of illicit drug use. If not yet known: The #EU Drug Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2025 advocates drug checking momentum.info !