Councillor Anna Wright

A DRUG testing centre where people check if they have picked-up “substances of concern” without fear of prosecution has opened in the heart of Camden Town – in the week campaigners said two more vulnerable people may have died overdosing on super strength synthetic heroin.

The free service in King’s Terrace is open one day a month and is the first of its kind in the capital and has been officially licensed by the Home Office.

It has been commissioned as an urgent response to the alarming rise of laboratory-made street drugs that have flooded Camden’s drug market with devastating effect.

Campaigners are, however, questioning why the new testing centre is not open for more days, Elodie Berland, from Streets Kitchen, said: “We naturally welcome the proposed work in Camden, though we are sceptical about how only one testing day a month can truly be effective.

“Support needs to be available when and where it is directly needed. During our outreach, we always carry testing kits and naloxone. In just the last week, we have heard about two more fatal overdoses of people we knew locally.

“Drug checking and support should be available every day—including weekends—in places people can safely access, backed by much more awareness of the current drug climate”

SEE ALSO IT’S THE PM vs THE GREEN ON IDEA TO LEGALISE HARDER DRUGS

The New Journal has reported over the past two years on how the rise of laboratory produced heroin substitutes, also known as nitazenes, was behind a rise in overdoses.

In a single day in March last year, 33 drug takers were taken ill on the after using from the same batch.

Camden is the borough with the highest number of drug deaths in the capital each year.

In May, we reported on the campaign group Transform’s warnings that the government failing to confront the increasing threat of synthetic opioids and calls for a “drug consumption room” – as had been trialled in Glasgow – to be set up in Camden Town.

In December, a coroners inquest ruled that Oscar Brown had died in a Camden Town hostel after taking a “highly potent” mix of “newer and unusual”  psychoactive chemicals, sometimes called “nitazenes”.

The new testing centre – which is aimed at the “drug dependent” – is run by The Loop charity that has managed drug testing services at music festivals for more than a decade.

The service is described as a “non-judgmental space” where drug users can get clear and accurate information about substances.

Other addiction interventions will also be available at the centre including drop-in sessions.

SEE ALSO THE FALLOUT FROM ‘THE FIRE’: WHAT COULD SAVE THESE STREETS FROM THE SUPER DRUGS?

Experts in the field have suggested that it drug addicts are unlikely to want to test drugs because they lose a bit in the process.

There are also hopes that conscientious dealers may be more willing to give up small quantities of a larger supply in the hope of being able to sleep at night knowing their customers are not at risk of death.

Founder and Chair of Trustees of The Loop Professor Fiona Measham said: “Drug markets are more dangerous than ever, with increasing numbers of potent synthetic drugs in circulation across the UK. Drug checking can play a unique role in countering these threats, acting as the “canary in the coalmine”.

“Synthetic opioids”, also known nitazenes, are made in the lab and are routinely far more potent than natural heroin. Camden’s health chief Councillor Anna Wright said: “While we’re clear that no drug use comes without risk, this service is crucial to understanding whether drugs that are contaminated by synthetic opioids or other dangerous substances may be circulating.

“Working alongside our partners, it gives us an opportunity to prevent harm at the earliest opportunity and to provide more specialist support to our residents who are most vulnerable to dangerous drugs.

“Our aim is to ensure they get the help they need to stay safe and be supported towards recovery.”

The service is available at Kings Studio, 43-45 Kings Terrace, on the first Saturday of every month from 12pm-7pm.