Visitors of the Dutch drug checking services: Profile and drug use experience

Koning, Raoul Pieter Joost; Benschop, Annemieke; Wijffels, Camiel; Noijen, Judith

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103293

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…One of the intended primary outcomes of the testing service was to improve patrons’ knowledge of how to prevent potential harms associated with drug consumption (especially consumption of the type of drug that had been tested). Self-reported knowledge was measured from ‘very poor’ [ 1 ] to ‘very good’ [ 5 ]. Results indicate that a higher proportion of patrons reported having ‘good’ (44%) or ‘very good’ knowledge (44%) of harm reduction post-service when compared to pre-service (with 38% of ‘good’ and 23% of ‘very good’ knowledge) (see Fig.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paper describes the independent evaluation of Australia’s first government supported drug checking service. As has been shown in international studies of similar services [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 27 ], Australian festival-goers were willing to submit substances for analysis and engaged in the harm reduction health advice provided by medical staff and peers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Music festival drug checking: evaluation of an Australian pilot program

2022

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Background This paper explores the feasibility of delivering a music festival-based drug checking service in Australia, evaluating service design and stakeholder acceptability. Methods Questionnaire and interview data were collected from adult service users and key stakeholders. A mixed methods approach was used to analyse the data on implementation, impact and acceptability. Results The trial service tested 170 substances with more than 230 patrons (including individuals who attended in groups). Adult service users had an average age of 21 years. Voluntary participation in the evaluation resulted in 158 participants completing the pre-service questionnaire, most of whom also completed the post-service (147 participants). Eleven in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with patrons in the weeks following the drug checking. Concordance between what the patron expected the drug to be and drug checking results occurred in 88 per cent (n = 139) of the sample. Evaluation results show that the experience of testing and the accompanying harm reduction brief interventions positively impacted on patrons’ self-reported drug harm reduction knowledge, trust of health providers and stated drug use intentions. The service was received positively by service users. Conclusion This is the first independent evaluation of a pilot drug checking service in Australia. Consideration of operational feasibility and self-reported behavioural change suggests that the program was successful, although communication about the interpretation of drug checking results could be improved. Future studies should develop strategies for follow-up and consider the applicability of behavioural change theory.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music festival drug checking: evaluation of an Australian pilot program

2022

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“…It allows PWUD to have substances of concern analysed to identify their composition and to receive personalised harm reduction advice (Trans European Drug Information, 2022). It also and above all allows health professionals to access PWUD, who may be difficult to reach due to (Information about the the nature of illicit drug use and because this group may not feel a need to seek professional help (Koning et al, 2021). The objective is neither to encourage nor to prevent drug use, but to reduce harm for users.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges, policy and politics in drug checking: reflections of the TEDItorial team

Linden

Koning

Gouwe

et al. 2022

DHS

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present some of the continued resistance and challenges faced by drug checking services (DCS) and review how the existing literature and the contributions to the special issue address them, with a view to making recommendations. Design/methodology/approach The existing literature and the contributions to the special issue are reviewed. Findings Drug checking cannot be equated with quality control. With the appropriate equipment and chemistry staff, DCS can provide quantitative analysis and reliable results. When the product does not match expectations, service users discard the tested substance of concern. To more easily compare the results of different studies and better evaluate drug checking, standardisation of measures is desirable. Uptake of drug checking, notably in festivals, is low and depends in part on the capacity of DCS. Drug checking has added value in monitoring drug markets and is complementary with chemical (forensic) analysis. Originality/value This paper interrogates in a relatively comprehensive way the continued resistance to drug checking in light of theoretical and empirical research to derive recommendations that are specific to drug checking and that are addressed to health professionals, researchers and also to policymakers.

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“…Several studies have aimed to characterize people attending EDM events and found that this population applies several protective behavior strategies (PBS) before, during and after their drug-using sessions: avoiding certain drug mixtures, planning drug use sessions and buying drugs from reliable sources, among other strategies (Akram and Galt, 1999;Baggott, 2002;Chinet et al, 2007;Riley et al,, 2010;Fern andez-Calder on et al, 2011;Race, 2011;Van Havere et al, 2015;Cruz, 2015;Palamar et al, 2015;Hughes et al, 2019;Betzler et al, 2019). Some researchers have described the actual subset of people who attend EDM events and use DCS and found a predominantly white male, highly educated middle-class population (Michelow and Dowden, 2015;Martins et al, 2017;Measham, 2020;Olsen et al, 2019;Koning et al, 2021). However, there is still a lack of data beyond sociodemographic characteristics that must be addressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug use patterns, harm reduction strategies and use of drug checking services in boom festival patrons

Valente

Martins²,

Pinto³

et al. 2022

DHS

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Purpose Recent studies have shown that people who attend electronic dance music events and use drug checking services (DCS) are a predominantly white male, highly educated middle-class population. However, there is still a lack of data beyond sociodemographic characteristics that must be addressed. This paper aims to describe the drug use patterns and protective behavior strategies (PBS) used by testers and nontesters at Boom Festival 2018 and analyze the relationship between these behaviors and the decision to use the DCS. Design/methodology/approach This is an exploratory research based on a cross-sectional design using baseline data collected at the Boom Festival from testers (N = 343) and nontesters (N = 115). Findings Nontesters presented, in general, slightly higher frequencies of use for most drugs, whereas testers tended to adopt PBS more frequently. Moreover, testers planned their drug use more often than nontesters and set more limits on the amount of drugs they used in one session. Both of these behaviors work as predictors for using the DCS. Practical implications Our data suggest that DCS might not be easily accessible to all people who use drugs, reaching almost exclusively highly educated people that already apply several harm reduction strategies. Actions should be taken to promote service accessibility. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to compare the demographics, drug use and PBS adoption of DCS users with nonusers who attended the same festival.

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Visitors of the Dutch drug checking services: Profile and drug use experience

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Music festival drug checking: evaluation of an Australian pilot program

Music festival drug checking: evaluation of an Australian pilot program

Challenges, policy and politics in drug checking: reflections of the TEDItorial team

Drug use patterns, harm reduction strategies and use of drug checking services in boom festival patrons

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