The EHRC 2024 Sessions: 5. Legally grey? Discovering loopholes in the national laws for drug checking services

Despite the fact that drug checking services have been provided for a long time in many countries, such as the Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland, they all operate in a legal grey area. It basically means that they’re not explicitly illegal – but they’re not legal either. In 2022, Aotearoa New Zealand became the first country in the world to fully legalise drug checking services. This allows people to get their drugs tested at festivals, clinics, and other locations to identify the substances present and make informed decisions about use. There are still many countries in Europe (and in the world), which are afraid of providing drug checking services, because of the “legality” of the service. However, practise shows, that there are many loopholes in the laws and overcoming it can help in starting provision of drug checking services.
The aim of this session is to explore how organizations can overcome legal barriers, to be able to provide drug checking services.
The objectives of this session are:
To identify the most common legal barriers related with no/ limited access to provision of drug checking services;
To discuss how countries with long drug checking service provision experience overcame legal barriers;
To share and express opinions regarding the future of drug checking services and its legalization.
Moderator: Igor Gordon
Subsessions:
Paving the Way - Grey Zone Drug Checking in Lithuania
December 03, 2024 11:00 AM – 11:10 AM
Drug checking via Syringe Vending Machines
December 03, 2024 11:10 AM – 11:20 AM
Innovations from a Harm Reduction Lab in Spain: Science for individuals, organizations and the community
December 03, 2024 11:20 AM – 11:30 AM
Overcoming legal challenges in Drug Checking services: Insights and future directions
December 03, 2024 11:30 AM – 11:40 AM


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