Drug Checking
The Loop provides city centre drug checking services in several locations across England. Drug checking is where you submit a substance to us, we perform tests on it in our laboratory, and then we sit down with you and have an anonymous, non-judgmental chat and share tailored harm reduction advice.
Everyone is welcome to use our service, it is free to use, and we are happy to have a chat with you about drugs, even if you don’t submit a substance.
Our service is licenced by the Home Office. Find out more about our laboratory methods we use.
Find a service
-
Our Bristol drug checking service is located at:
Bristol Drugs Project, 1 Brunswick Square, St Paul's, Bristol BS2 8PE | View mapThis service takes place on the last Saturday of the month.
-
Our Hackney drug checking service is located at:
Turning Point, 110 Mare St, London, E8 3SG | View mapThis service takes place on the third Saturday of the month.
-
Our third location for drug checking is launching on Saturday 7th March. Stay tuned for more information.
How does it work?
Step 1. You submit a substance for testing.
Step 2. You fill out a brief assessment related to the substance - including what you think it is, and what your drug use is like. This is crucial, as this informs the information we can share with you following the testing.
Step 3. We perform a number of lab tests on the substance, including a test for highly potent synthetic opioids.
Step 4. After about an hour, we’re ready with the results, and there is an opportunity to speak openly and receive non-judgmental and factual information regarding drugs and harm reduction advice with a member of The Loop's healthcare team.
Where there is a dependency on the submitted substance, we are able to support people in engaging and receiving further services, accessing support and treatment.
By testing substances across the UK, we build a web of data that will help us give harm reduction advice to people who use drugs, informed by what drugs are currently in circulation. In situations where there is a significant threat to the public from a submitted substance, we not only share this information with the person who submitted the substance, we share an alert more widely on our social media and on our Alerts page.