HSE expert warns that proposed drug-testing kits ‘don’t work’

The manager of addiction services in the HSE South claims that widespread use of drug-testing kits would lull young people in to a false sense of security.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has indicated that he is examining a proposal to allow drug users in clubs have their drugs tested for potentially lethal ingredients. The radical proposal is being looked at as part of a new national drugs strategy from 2017.

Under the plan, which would require a change in the law, drug users could have drugs legally tested for lethal ingredients in nightclub or at a festival. However, David Lane of the HSE South, who is an expert in addiction, says drug kits do not work.