NightsafeMCR

Jasmine’s story

It’s 11 p.m. on Halloween 2019. University student Jasmine is eagerly waiting in line to get into a rave with her best friend. Once inside, Jasmine takes a blue pill marked with skull-like face hoping to enhance her partying experience. By 1 a.m. she is in hospital with an ECG strapped to her chest, monitoring her hearts unstable condition.

 What transpired that night was a result of drug poisoning. The pill, which Jasmine believed was pure MDMA, contained an unknown substance that caused her heart rate to soar. It took just 30 minutes for symptoms to begin, Jasmine recalls “it started with a wave of dizziness and feeling really sick. Then all of a sudden, I started to get heart palpitations, it was beating so loud I could feel it in my head”. It wasn’t until she sat down that her friend noticed her eyes rolling back as if she was having a seizure. This was the scariest part for Jasmine and the part she finds hardest to remember.  

Thankfully, her friend, who hadn’t taken any pills, managed to get the attention of a team of medics who then called an ambulance for Jasmine. The trip to the hospital marked an end to the Halloween celebrations, but the start of a new routine for Jasmine. She is now required to visit the hospital every six months for an ECG and has routine scans to monitor her irregular heartbeat. 

Jasmine was a 20-year-old student at the time and no stranger to taking drugs on nights out. She was a regular customer and had bought drugs from this dealer multiple times before so had few concerns when deciding to take the pill on Halloween. But after the life-threatening experience, Jaz wants to share how important it is to test drugs where possible, even if you have tried them before.  

Unfortunately, testing wasn’t available at the event, and even if it was, Jasmine admits she would have been reluctant to use it. “It [testing] wasn’t a thought for me on the night… and at the time I expected a lot of judgement for having taken the pill. But knowing how bad the effects of taking dodgy drugs are I would 100% take them to a testing station”.  

Incidents of drug related deaths have been on the rise for the 11th year in a row. In a recent report from the Office for National Statistics, figures show that in the last year drug poisoning deaths were 82% higher than in 2012. 

Thanks to drug checking charity The Loop, it’s becoming more common to have on-site testing at night-time events. Chris Brady, NHS harm reduction therapist and senior member of The Loop, explains why drug harm reduction is the most effective way to tackle drug related deaths.

Brady has worked with The Loop since the charity launched in 2013 managing their welfare services at popular events like Parklife and The Warehouse Project.  Before joining the charity, Brady was heavily involved in the 90’s Jungle scene where he witnessed countless ravers affected by drug overdoses. It was this first-hand experience that encouraged him to get into welfare. He moved on to managing The Loop’s drug checking services when they started the service in 2016. “I was The Loop’s first volunteer and worked in the clubs for a while, as a promoter and DJ. They needed people who knew how to work with people, which is what I do best”. 

Brady is an advocate for safer drug use and believes the Government should focus on working with testing service providers rather than against them. So, when the Home Office decided to change licencing rules Just days before the summer festival season began, a lot of people saw this as a kick in the face. The Home Office announced that drug testing providers would need to apply for a controlled drugs license, a process costing over £3,000 and taking months to process. Brady expressed his initial frustration, “It’s frustrating because research has shown that it can work. I’ve seen it save lives… If you look at our website and go to the publication page, the evidence is all there to show that reduction works.” 

He did, however, stress the importance of complying with the government to carry on with their work, “Our kind of response being more about if this is what the home office say they need, and we’ve got to do it, right. Because if we start going against the government, then we’re not going to be able to do anything at all. And we can’t do anything that we can’t keep people safe. So, it’s not about egos. It’s about keeping your head down and getting the job done”. 

When The Loop first began, the staff were made up of just three volunteers. Now, there are over 200 workers volunteering in both the welfare and drug checking department. With six campaigns already in partnership with the charity, it’s clear that this approach to drug use has had a massive impact. However, the work doesn’t stop here, as many still believing that a zero-tolerance approach is the best way to tackle drug harm. As a child in school, Brady remembers being told about a ‘middle-class girl who died from taking ecstasy. He says, “it was meant to scare us off drugs, but people still went out and did them. Just saying ‘no’ didn’t work. We must change this approach from trying to scare people off drugs because it doesn’t work well”. 

The message of harm reduction does not endorse drug use, nor does it discourage exploration. It’s about a greater understanding of the options for safer drug use and minimizing risk. Don’t take my word for it, take Jasmine’s. “I was blind to the consequences, but hindsight is a wonderful thing… If you can test, you should do it. Testing saves lives”.
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