Drug checking (pill testing)
Drug checking, also known as pill testing or adulterant screening, is a harm reduction practice designed to assist individuals in identifying the substances they intend to consume, thereby helping them avoid potentially dangerous or adulterated drugs. This service is particularly prevalent in settings like music festivals and dance clubs, where users may unknowingly ingest harmful substances mixed with the drugs they believe they are taking. By providing immediate testing results, drug checking allows users to make informed decisions—such as opting out of consumption, adjusting the quantity taken, or ensuring they have support available.
The practice originated in the Netherlands during the 1970s as part of a broader public health approach to drug use. Over the decades, various countries have adopted similar services, promoting safety through awareness of drug contents. Drug checking centers typically offer free or low-cost testing, with users providing small samples for analysis. This process helps detect harmful adulterants—substances added to drugs to increase profit margins or mimic higher quality—which can significantly raise health risks, including overdose.
However, the practice is not without controversy; advocates argue it reduces harm, while critics contend it may inadvertently endorse drug use. Drug checking thus embodies the complex interplay between public health, safety, and substance use culture, highlighting the diverse perspectives surrounding drug consumption and harm reduction strategies.
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Drug checking (pill testing)
Drug checking is a process of helping people who use drugs to identify a substance they are preparing to take. This is a means of helping them avoid taking harmful substances. Drug checking is also known as pill testing and adulterant screening.
Many substances taken by substance abusers or those who use drugs in settings such as music festivals or dance clubs have been contaminated by other substances. Drug checking helps users know what they are taking, and can reduce risk of overdose. Based on the results, individuals may choose to avoid taking the drug, take it in smaller quantities, or ensure they are with people who can help them should they have a negative experience after using the substance.
Drug checking is a controversial topic. Advocates say it is a way to help individuals avoid harm. Critics say it gives tacit approval to substance abuse and encourages drug users.
Background
Drug checking dates back to 1970. It originated in Amsterdam, where the Netherlands government decided to address illegal drug use by treating recreational drug use, often called soft drugs, differently than highly addictive drugs such as opiods, commonly called hard drugs. Cannabis in particular was used freely in public places, and throughout the 1960s visitors from Europe and North America were drawn to Amsterdam for this freedom and many counterculture ideals.
Many European nations were initially appalled at this approach, and saw it as giving drug users freedom from law enforcement and contributing to drug abuse in other countries. However, a number of countries eventually decided to collaborate on the issue of drug policies. Seven countries formed the Pompidou Group—Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs—in 1971. The group, which was named for then-French president Georges Pompidou, comprised France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It took a hard line against drugs, in large part because France was under pressure to stem the tide of heroin traffic from Turkey through France to the United States. The Pompidou Group was incorporated into the institutional framework of the Council of Europe in 1980; by 2020 in included thirty-nine member states. Its focus remained on fighting the supply of drugs; meanwhile, the Dutch government chose to take a public health approach. The Netherlands adopted a policy of harm reduction, which means that rather than stigmatize and marginalize drug users, the country chose to help people use drugs more safely.
The Netherlands addressed drug use by offering care and social support such as peer-led groups. During the 1980s, recreational drug use became common in music and dance clubs, and newer types of drugs became available. In 1992 the nation established the Drugs Monitoring and Information System (DIMS), which remains the world’s oldest drug checking service. DIMS provides testing of drugs for drug users to detect unexpected dangerous substances and protect users from these hazards. About a dozen other nations have instituted similar programs, and like the Netherlands share information they gather about drug use with the Trans-European Drug Information Project. In addition, DIMS distributes notifications about newly discovered dangerous drugs on the market when they are detected.
Overview
Drug checking involves both drug check centers and commercially available products, although the quality of the latter may vary. In the Netherlands, most drug checking centers offer the service for free, though some charge a small fee. Users are encouraged to turn over a small sample—a single pill, for example—to be tested. The drug checking centers maintain a database of drugs they check, and add new drugs as they are encountered. Users can get immediate results on many of the substances. For example, a counselor can scrape off a bit of a pill, place it in a test tube, and add the appropriate chemical. If the drug is what the user believes it to be—the product the individual sought to purchase—the chemical will turn a specific color. If it is not the expected drug, the counselor can use other tests to determine what is in the drug. In some cases, the center will send the drug to a drug-testing lab, where tests will determine its dosage and if it contains any other substances, called adulterants, that may be added to drugs by manufacturers or dealers to boost profits or make the drug seem to be of better quality. Heroin, for example, is often cut (adulterated) with rat poison, powdered milk, laundry detergent, starch, crushed painkillers, or sugars. Although some substances do not seem dangerous, when mixed with a drug that may be injected, they can pose serious health risks; for example, the particles may not dissolve and could block arteries.
Some drug dealers and manufacturers add fentanyl to heroin, cocaine, and other drugs. Fentalyl is a powerful prescription painkiller, but synthetic fentanyl is inexpensive to make and commonly added to other drugs. This can lead to overdoses when users accidentally take more than they are used to using. Drug checking can determine the potency of such adulterated drugs and help users understand the risks and dosage. For example, often a substance sold as heroin contains no heroin, but is instead fentanyl with caffeine and sugar or other substances. Club drugs such as ecstasy are getting stronger, with some pills containing more than twice what is regarded as a normal dose. High doses of ecstasy can cause fatal reactions such as heat stroke.
Austria, Belgium, Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, the nations that offer drug checking, see mostly party drugs. They test very few opioids. The most common drug tested by centers in the Netherlands is ecstasy, a popular club drug. It accounts for 59 percent of samples. The second most common drug tested is cocaine at 12 percent, followed by methamphetamine at 8 percent. Experts say that users addicted to opiods are more concerned with the immediacy of use and most are unwilling to give up even a small amount of their drug for testing. Recreational users typically are planning for an event and want to be sure they are safe.
In addition to offering precautions for drug users, drug checking provides other benefits. When users feel safe submitting drugs for testing, more dangerous substances are detected quickly. This allows health officials to warn the public of drug adulteration, which can be dangerous. Common adulterants include talc, sugars, and contaminants such as bacteria, fungi, glass, and metals.
In the United States, some states have funded programs that provide test strips to drug users. Individuals can dissolve a small amount of a drug in water, add a test strip, and check for a line indicating the presence of fentanyl. Other tests add liquid drops to drug samples, and identify substances with color changes.
Critics charge that pill testing enables drug users to break the law without consequence. They believe that helping drug users entails getting them to stop using drugs, not just use safer drugs. On a policy and funding level, legislators often argue that public funds are best used to treat drug addiction and address health concerns.
Bibliography
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