Abstract
BackgroundDrug checking is a harm reduction strategy which allows users to check the content and purity of illicit drugs. Although drug checking has been trialled internationally, with demonstrated value as a harm reduction and health promotion strategy, the use of such services in Australia remains a contentious issue.This study aimed to investigate the proportion and patterns of illicit drug use among young people, their attitudes towards drug checking at festivals and the potential impact of drug checking on intended drug use behaviour.MethodsThe survey was conducted at a major Australian music festival in 2016. Data was collected from a sample of festival attendees (n = 642) aged between 18 and 30 years. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed.ResultsNearly three-quarters (73.4%) of participants reported that they had used illicit drugs in the past 12 months, most commonly cannabis (63.9%) and ecstasy (59.8%). A large proportion of participants believed ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot’ that drug checking services could help users seek help to reduce harm (86.5%) and that drug checking services should be combined with harm reduction advice (84.9%). However, two thirds of the participants agreed ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot’ that drug sellers may use this service as a quality control mechanism (68.6%). Approximately half (54.4%) indicated they would be highly likely and a third (32.7%) would be somewhat likely to utilise free drug checking services should they be available at music festivals. When asked whether the results of drug checking would influence their drug use behaviour, participants reported that they would not take substances shown to contain methamphetamine (65.1%), ketamine (57.5%) or para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) (58.4%).ConclusionThe majority of festival attendees aged 18–30 participating in this study reported a history of illicit drug use and were in favour of the provision of free drug checking at festivals. A considerable proportion reported that the results of drug checking would influence their drug use behaviour. The findings of this study can contribute to the debate regarding whether drug checking services could potentially play a major role in harm reduction and health promotion programming for young people attending festivals.
Highlights
Drug checking is a harm reduction strategy which allows users to check the content and purity of illicit drugs
A large proportion of participants believed ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot’ that drug checking services could help users seek help to reduce harm (86.5%) and that drug checking services should be combined with harm reduction advice (84.9%)
When the attitudes of those who had used drugs in the past 12 months were compared to those who had never used drugs (Table 2), drug users were found to be significantly more likely to believe that drug checking services should be provided for free (p = 0.019), could assist in drug users seeking help to reduce harm (p = 0.019) and that the services should be combined with harm reduction advice (p = 0.020)
Summary
Drug checking is a harm reduction strategy which allows users to check the content and purity of illicit drugs. In the most recent National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) in 2016, almost 8.5 million (42.6%) Australians aged 14 years and over reported use of illicit drugs in their lifetime, with 3.1 million (15.6%) reporting use in the last month [1]. Music festival attendees report high levels of illicit drug use compared with the general population [2,3,4]. Consistent with this, studies undertaken at festivals across Australia reflect a considerably higher rate of illicit drug use than is seen in same-age groups in the general population. A crosssectional study of 1365 adolescents, conducted at a music festival in Australia in 2011, found 52% had used illicit drugs at least once, with 25% doing so in the previous month [5].
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