NEWS DRUG TESTING WILL BE BACK AGAIN THIS YEAR IN TIME FOR O-WEEK. By Emily Heyward
The University of Canterbury Student’s Association (UCSA) confirmed students would be able to get their gear checked during one of the biggest weeks on the uni (social) calendar. UCSA President Kim Fowler said students seemed pretty stoked to have the service available at Re O-Week last year, so it is coming back. “So many people turned up last year the service had to stay open late,” Kim said. Drug testing service Know Your Stuff (KYS) hopes even more students take advantage of the service this year. Managing Director Wendy Allison said it is important for students to know that they are taking what they think they are taking and not something more dangerous. It comes after a big summer, where bath salts, aka cathinones, aka a bad time, were found in more than half of samples tested at New Year’s Eve festivals, in place of MDMA. Or for those of you who failed STAT101; they were “bloody everywhere”. Wendy said it is likely, KYS will discover more bath salts in substances when students get their stuff tested during O-Week. “We anticipate similar results to those found at festivals … It is likely that eutylone [a cathinone] will be found among the samples tested at O-Week,” Wendy said. Pill testing was urgently legalised at the end of last year. The Government pushed through legislation to give drug checking services like Know Your Stuff, the ability to set up at festivals and events, without fear of prosecution. Previously, organisations testing illicit substances have operated in a legal grey area.
6
Minister of Health Andrew Little said the bill was about reducing harm, rather than condoning drug use. However, it will expire at the end of 2021; with a replacement bill being worked on in the meantime. Meanwhile, KYS is calling on universities to consider implementing drug checking as “part of their student wellbeing services”. “Universities have not only resources and access to spectrometers, but a willing body of students from which volunteers could be sourced. This would reduce the reliance on Know Your Stuff for this service to students and allow a more regular service which would, in turn, prevent more harm,” Wendy said. However, a University of Canterbury spokesperson said UC doesn’t have the resources to provide drug testing and believes it is best for trained specialists to provide the service. While UC does not condone the use of illegal drugs, the spokesperson said the University understands the UCSA’s decision to make the drug testing service available to students during O-Week. “We understand the UCSA aims to minimise harm and educate fellow students about drug use, and we support this student wellbeing and education,” the spokesperson said. Know Your Stuff will also be present at two other university orientation weeks this year. UC students will be able to get their drugs checked at Exchange Christchurch on February 22 and 23 from 3pm – 8pm.
