Current Affairs Police anti-drug office declares NGO drug testing at festivals “illegal”
Illegal recreational drugs have long been a part of the Czech music and dance scene, not least at many of country’s summer festivals. But until now, at least on occasion, NGOs focusing on drugs awareness were able to offer testing of drugs such as ecstasy on site. The aim was to check purity levels to be able to warn users of increased hazards and to make at least some of them think twice. Such initiatives now appear to be at an end: on Wednesday the police’s National Anti-Drug headquarters suggested such testing was not only inappropriate but also illegal.
Ecstasy
NGOs focusing on drug abuse have long tried to maintain a presence at
Czech
festivals and the dance scene by offering to test drug samples: drugs such
as ecstasy, which specialists say have been cut more and more with
different substances in recent years, making them even more of an unknown
danger and an unknown quantity. Czech TV reported on Wednesday that of
hundreds of samples of ecstasy tested by NGOs last year, only around ten
percent actually substances that users expected, meaning a dominant
percentage contained chemicals possibly even riskier to health. Above all,
testing provided users with a chance to talk with professionals on site
and
to receive assistance if needed. But that is now likely to change. A
little
earlier I spoke to Viktor Mravčík, the head of the National Monitoring
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, who criticised the police decision:
Viktor Mravčík
“The main purpose is not to perform analysis and such, or to verify
the
content, which is why it has come under criticism: that is not the main
reason why it is performed. It should be seen as a part of prevention and
harm reduction intervention at parties and events. Yes, it does provide a
kind of orientation or indication about whether MDMA – the active
substance in ecstasy – is or isn’t present. But it doesn’t provide
information about whether the tablet contains other drugs too. With this
information, services on the spot are simply able to work further, able to
provide counseling, and able to provide information. This is what is
important.”
Specialists and assistance workers have charged that steps taken to stop testing will push advances and continued impact by social workers in the field. If anything, Viktor Mravčík and others say, the dialogue between workers and drug users should not be stifled but significantly increased.
“It’s a very important point for momentum for intervention. If people are coming it means they are interested and it means that they have some doubts about the use of these drugs. That is the right moment to intervene: simply, to pass on the message and so on. Why this measure isn’t spread more widely, is due to a negative attitude by law enforcement for several years.”
According to Dr Mravčík and other specialists, back in 2004 NGOs in the
field had more initiatives and support which included numerous projects in
recreational settings. But such approaches were gradually scaled back.
Now,
many specialists worry that the stopping of drug testing at festivals will
make keeping channels open to users that much more difficult, although it
remains unclear if all will comply with the police on the issue or if any
will defy their stance and still try to offer tests at festivals in the
coming months.
