Professor David Nutt sits down with Fiona Measham, Anna Wade & Janine Milburn for an in depth look into why drug testing is so vital at festivals and beyond. Topics discussed include; Janine’s views following her daughters accidental overdose, how drug testing works at The Loop’s facilities, tackling the idea that the practice sends ‘mixed messages’,  …

As summer approaches and with an increasing number of outdoor events in the calendar, the pop-up drug scene comes back into focus. As with previous years, MDMA (ecstasy), the most prominent drug at festivals and clubs, is likely to dominate again. Tragedy has struck down a number of young lives with MDMA related deaths increasing  …

An alarming rise in drug-related deaths at music festivals can be countered by testing illicit substances onsite, according to the first academic study of its kind [PDF download], which has triggered calls for similar services to be rolled out at all major events. Samples contained ketamine instead of cocaine, while a drug sold as MDMA  …

The recent spate of headlines about the rising use of monkey dust drug in Stoke on Trent has led to calls to it to be made a Class A drug [from Class B where it/they are currently placed]. Whilst it is understandable that parents and local community groups would like to put an end to  …

As the United States experiences an overwhelming opioid crisis; as the world’s press is flooded with extra-judicial killings targeting drug “offenders” in the Philippines; as young Australians overdose on novel psychoactive substances and teenagers in the UK on ecstasy, there can be only one certainty: drugs are here to stay. Despite some countries reaffirming farcical  …

A version of this post was published in The Guardian It seems the London club Fabric has had its licence revoked on the grounds that its management is inadequately controlling drug use in the venue. The immediate incidents that led to this decision were the tragic deaths this year of two young men at the  …

Inside a previously unremarkable circle of grass about 10 metres in diameter, a bold new precedent for drugs policy was set in the UK. Pitched on the grass at the Secret Garden Party 2016 festival in Cambridgeshire, was a tent run by The Loop, a not for profit drug and alcohol service. For those few  …