The Warehouse Project to Test Pills and Tweet Results
Thursday, 03 October 2013
Written by Elliott Batte
The Warehouse Project is to start testing its confiscated drugs in an effort to try and stop contaminated batches of pills harming its clubbers.
The massive Manchester nightclub was rocked by the death of one raver and the hospitalisation of five others last month, after a rogue batch of fake ecstasy pills - believed to contain PMA, which has already caused a number of deaths in the North this year - circulated the venue.
Nightclubs in the Netherlands have long been testing the drugs and pills of their attendees in an effort to stop bad drugs harming and potentially killing music fans, and it looks like a similar (although slightly less liberal) method may be hitting the UK.
The new idea comes straight from the Home Office, and the BBC reports that from October 12, officials at The Warehouse Project will begin testing any of the substances they seize to determine how pure - or impure - they are, with the results and warnings then posted to Twitter.
Sacha Lord-Marchionne - the director of The Warehouse Project - has commented:
“For the first time ever in club history in the UK, the Home Office will fund a trailer. Any drugs confiscated are going to be put through a machine, which in seconds evaluates what is the makeup of that particular confiscation. We can then send out messages via social media during the event.
"This isn't something that's just happening at the Warehouse Project, this is a national issue. We need to educate people about what's going on, as there's some nasty stuff out there.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office has also commented, saying:
“This work is part of our Centre for Applied Science and Technology's drugs support and advice service. We routinely analyse seized and confiscated illegal drugs to monitor emerging threats and target activity to reduce demand and supply.”
In the Netherlands, club testers work on the premise that people can request their drugs be tested so they know how safe or unsafe they are, without the risk of getting in trouble - over here, only confiscated drugs would be tested.
What do you think of the idea? We think it’s a step in the right direction - let us know what you think in the comment box below!
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