Aberdeen Drug Checking Project moves a step further
Published: 28/03/2024 14:03Alcohol & Drugs Action (ADA) have submitted a Home Office Licence application as part of the Aberdeen Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP), to be part of an innovative Drug Checking Project (DCP) for adults accessing support services who are most at risk.
A successful application will mean support workers in the future will be able to use small testing machines locally to look at the content of illicit substances, before samples are sent to a national testing laboratory for more in-depth analysis. This sophisticated technology can provide a quick way to identify substances and offer tailored advice. It will also feed into Public Health Scotland’s surveillance of substances circulating in Scotland (RADAR), allowing rapid response when new or harmful substances are found.
Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Christina McKelvie said: “I welcome the announcement that Aberdeen has submitted their license application for a drug checking facility to the Home Office.
“We are committed to delivering drug-checking facilities which will allow people to get substances tested for content whilst receiving tailored harm reduction advice alongside the results and will enable services to respond faster to emerging trends. We continue to work with partners to implement these facilities across all our pilot cities as they also prepare to submit applications.”
ADA’s Direct Access Services Manager, Simon Pringle explained: “Our main aim is to reduce harm associated with drug use for people at the highest risk of harm, overdose and death. Being able to test substances on site will give us an opportunity to have a conversation with service users about what they’re using and what’s actually in these substances, so they can make more informed choices.”
The DCP will run as an extension to ADA’s Enhanced Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP), offering harm reduction advice in relation to street drugs. ADA will operate the Aberdeen arm of the pilot Scottish Drug Checking Project. They are working in collaboration with NHS and ADP partners in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow, and the Scottish Government to evaluate the impact of drug checking on reducing drug-related harm and inform future policy.
Drug checking will be available to those aged over 18 and will be targeted at people who report dependence to or significant harm experience from the use of on one or more illicit drug.
NHS Grampian’s Public Health Consultant, John Mooney has published research on addressing illicit substances and drug-related deaths. He supports drug and alcohol partnerships across Grampian and helps to inform Scotland-wide policies on reducing drug-related harm. Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership commissions ADA to deliver services in Aberdeen as part of the Aberdeen Alcohol and Drug Partnership.
He explained: “This Drug Checking Project will provide a level of testing that’s really valuable in terms of drugs surveillance and preventing harm at a time when there are substances circulating which are 50 times more powerful than heroin. It’s one of our key harm reduction measures – also including supervised drug consumption and equipping people with the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone. Drug checking will be a critical part of increasing the detection and awareness of potentially lethal substances among those who are being supported in a variety of ways by health and social care services.”
ADA has 7-day-a-week support services for those using illicit and other substances, including alcohol. The agency is a key partner in the Aberdeen City ADP Integrated Drug Service and has several direct routes into treatment and/or support to help people reduce use and achieve abstinence. People accessing the drug checking service will be made aware of all the supports available and proactively encouraged to access them, as well as being offered follow up support as part of harm reduction interventions.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Christian Allard, chair of Community Planning Aberdeen, said: “The Council very much welcomes the piloting of the Drug Checking Project in our city, something we formally supported at the end of last year. As a council we have been delighted to back the Naloxone programme, and this new project also has the potential to reduce harm. Greater knowledge about the composition of street drugs will help people using the service better understand the risks, and in the longer term improve policies for managing drug-related issues.”
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More about the partners:
Alcohol & Drugs Action (ADA) is a registered Scottish charity and company limited by guarantee with the remit to provide advice, information, support and targeted interventions to people experiencing alcohol and drug-related issues in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Funding comes from the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs), the Corra Foundation, as well as other sources. ADA has been operating in the North-East of Scotland since 1986 as a provider of specialist services addressing alcohol and drug use alongside other risk activities and is now the lead Third Sector provider of alcohol and drug services in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. www.alcoholanddrugsaction.org.uk
Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership commissions ADA to deliver services in Aberdeen as part of the Aberdeen Alcohol and Drug Partnership. This brings together local partners including NHS Grampian, Aberdeen City Council, Police Scotland and voluntary agencies. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Aberdeen-Protects/reducing-alcohol-and-drugs-use