Why does the UK want to end drug testing at festivals when it clearly saves lives?

Anya Buckley’s death was avoidable.

In August 2019, a 17-year-old Anya died from heart failure after taking cocaine, ketamine and MDMA. She collapsed on a Saturday morning at Leeds festival. Later, a pathologist concluded her death was caused by mixed drug toxicity.

If people are made aware that toxic drugs are getting circulated, then it can easily help them make better choices, her aunt, Anna Short, told the Guardian at the time. Nevertheless, Anya isn’t the only victim of such circumstances.

There’s Proof Onsite Drug-Testing Helps

It’s pretty normal to find people taking drugs at music festivals. Between 2017 and 2021, at least 14 young people attending different festivals in England were reported dead from drug use. But were their deaths avoidable?

On-site drug testing has long been known to help keep people safe. In fact, evidence suggests when the volunteer-run drug testing facility The Loop operates onsite, festivals have seen a commendable 10% – 25% drop in drug-related harm.

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But operations of such facilities now appear to be at risk. The Home Office told organisers of the Parklife festival in Manchester that they would need a special licence to be able to check for dangerous drugs onsite – in a change seen for the first time since 2014.

The announcement can make onsite drug testing practically impossible this summer as the arrangements could take over three months, at a significant cost. A number of artists and MPs have condemned the move in an open letter.

It’s A Puritanical Attitude

Here’s how. Lean in a little closer and you can see the same troubling approach everywhere in the country. It’s in the idea that youngsters shouldn’t learn about different types of sex, just in case, they start having it.

It’s in the idea that the best way to prevent illegal activities is to frighten people into submission, as opposed to taking an evidence-based approach as to what can actually keep them safe in their daily lives – which is what several countries are following with regard to drugs.

It’s high time facts are prioritised over feelings.

On-site drug testing facilities don’t encourage people to indulge in harmful activities. Rather, they encourage people to not play with their lives and be given enough reliable information to help them make informed choices.