Street level kits to test the purity/content in various illegal drugs have gone on sale in a San Antonio Supermarket, and the distributor is hoping they will soon be available across the island.
The kits are branded EZ test, by the company who introduced the first commercially available consumer drug test for Ecstasy in 1996, in what they describe as “an effort to minimize health risks that came from increased popularity of the drug MDMA and rising levels of market pollution”.
This portion of the report has been edited Monday 2nd July 2018. The company had given us details of a particular stockist, however it appears that the outlet in question had not agreed to sell the products at any time. We have erred on the side of caution and removed all outlets.
Kurt’s social media page describes EZ Test as “a major provider of Consumer Drug Testing Kits for professionals and individuals who need to quickly identify a suspect sample. Our tests provide a valuable contribution to the field of Harm Reduction, a set of principles that are geared towards the minimization of health risks that may occur as a result of the gap between prohibition, public health and societal rules.” He continues to describe their target market “Our tests serve a broad audience ranging from health care professionals, non-profit organizations, dance event and festival promoters, concerned parents, teachers to the actual end-users. They play a vital role in raising awareness and can help creating meaningful fact-based dialogs within the still controversial subject of drugs in our society.” In so far as their ethical stand is concerned they state “EZ Test neither condones nor condemns the use of drugs but recognizes the fact that these will be used regardless of their legal status. There is no such thing as ‘safe’ drug use.”
We say; It is a no brainer, whatever a person’s feeling on drug use, no sane person could object to something that reduced the risk of harm or even death resulting from their use/misuse/abuse. Doesn’t seem like enough outlets though – i’m sure many people purchasing drugs would happily pay an extra 5€ to find out what is in them, but would they walk from one end of san an to the other to find out, to be frank i doubt it, and we’ve asked our drug advisor Franco and he agrees.
That’s a shame, but not to focus on the negative, these kits may well save a life somewhere along the line, and that would be a fantastic achievement. Whether or not they save a life, one thing we are sure of is that they will end a few friendships.
