Your voice could save lives’: Mayor pushed to help restore drug testing at London festivals

Green Assembly Member Caroline Russell today called on the Mayor to intervene with the Home Office to ensure that safe drug testing at festivals continues in London. 

Charities such as The Loop have delivered on-site testing at festivals for almost a decade, allowing warnings to be issued about dangerous substances, and on average leading to a 10-25 per cent reduction in drug-related harm. [1] However, the Home Office was last month accused of endangering lives after advising festival organisers to seek a special licence, effectively banning the practice this summer. [2] 

Caroline Russell AM said: 

“The evidence is clear – drug testing at festivals saves lives. This ‘back of house’ testing has taken place at London festivals for years, is overseen by the Met Police, and allows for a multi-agency response to keep people safe.” 

“The Mayor should engage with the Home Office as a matter of absolute urgency to push for a re-clarification of these rules. This legal, safe testing practice must be allowed to continue this summer – his voice could save lives.” 

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has already called for the decision to be reversed.  

The Mayor expressed concern about the new requirements, saying: 

“I’m not sure if the Government realises the consequences of what they’ve done. But this testing means that they can let everyone know there's a dangerous drug in circulation and that could save lives, in the middle of festival season.” 

Caroline Russell AM also called on the Mayor to make progress on providing all-year-round drug-checking services, which the London Assembly Health Committee called for in a report on drug harm reduction in March 2022. [3]  

The Mayor’s response committed to considering this as part of the London Drugs Forum, which first met last year, however, no discussions have been had on the subject. He agreed to raise the matter at the next meeting of the London Drugs Forum.