ANKORS is excited to announce the launch of Drug Checking at Music Festivals: A How‐To Guide by Chloe Sage and Warren Michelow – a groundbreaking and comprehensive guide that will move the national and international conversation about drug checking forward into action. This guide is the culmination of fourteen years of experience operating a drug checking service at the Shambhala Music Festival.
This guide gives the information and resources people need to begin their own drug checking service today. The guide and supporting materials are free for download from http://michelow.ca/drug‐checking‐guide. You can also find the guide at ANKORS’ volunteer training website: www.ankorsvolunteer.com.
ANKORS believes Drug Check at Music Festivals: A How-To Guide will serve as a hands-on best practices guide for how to integrate drug checking with other harm reduction, health and safety services while upholding the law.
There have been numerous drug-related deaths at music festivals and we want to avoid any more. Drug checking is desperately needed due to the barrage of new psychoactive substances coming on the market every month. Many potentially dangerous substances are being misrepresented and sold as more commonly known and desired ones. Drug checking services that are connected with local, national or international networks can act as an early warning system. This guyide is intended to help people create services that can be linked together to create that network.
About the guide
Funded by the British Columbia Ministry of Health. the guide provides a thorough review of the different methods of drug checking, the associated legal issues and how to stay on the right side of the law, hands-on logistics resources, data collection tools and much more. “Drug checking services are an important part of the harm reduction services offered at music festivals in other jurisdictions and we need to take a close look at how to implement these services in Canada to better protect the safety of participants. The Shambhala Festival has been a trailblazer in developing a comprehensive approach to harm reduction and this guide will help others across the country plan for safety at their events,” said Donald MacPherson, Executive Director of the Canadian Drug Policy
For interviews or more information contact Chloe Sage at [email protected] or call ANKORS 250‐505‐5506, reach Warren Michelow at [email protected] or 604‐683‐8513