On the 18th of November, EZ Test had the privilege of charing a panel at the Harm Reduction International Conference – the foremost global forum for the exchange of information at the intersection of human rights, public health, and drug policy; a place for the international harm reduction community to gather.

 

About HRI

Harm Reduction International (HRI) is a leading charity dedicated to reducing the adverse health, social and legal impacts of drug use and drug policy. The charity promotes the rights of people who use drugs and their communities through research and advocacy to help achieve a world where drug policies and laws contribute to healthier, safer societies.

 

The Panel

EZ Test’s Warren Tranter hosted “Just say Know: How Drug Testing Can Support Harm Minimisation.” 

Today, drug adulterants are changing. The increase in synthetics means users are at more and more risk of severe illness and overdose due to the influx of chemicals in common narcotics. This has been shifted by global drug policy that refuses to evolve and the pandemic, which has impacted supply lines. 

Warren sat down with three experts in the field to have an open and honest discussion of how we got here and why government policy in the UK and beyond should be changed to support harm minimisation. 

The experts were Fiona Measham, the founder of The Loop. Fiona is a Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool and has spent 30 years studying drug policy.

Guy Jones, who’s been involved with drug science since 2010, uses his chemistry background to support more technical and scientific ways to reduce drug harm. Guy is also with The Loop. 

And lastly, Sebastien Begutie, an expert on medical cannabis and CBD. Sebastien founded Alpha Cat, which are cannabinoid testing kits available on EZ Test. 

The session ran for an hour and a half and is available in its entirety below. Topics the panel discussed include how drug testing supports better harm minimisation, how legalisation would reduce the risks posed by addicts and weekend users. The panel shared their unique insights on how to combat black market adulterants, the prevalence of cutting agents, why we need to test cannabis and why the public should have greater access to testing kits. 

If you’re interested in a no BS, straight and honest discussion about how our current drug policy is failing those most vulnerable, check it out: