Online MDMA history, use and safety training course announced by The Loop
The course is offered at half price for those working in festivals and outdoor events
UK-based drug safety and harm reduction charity The Loop has unveiled plans for an online safety training session focused on MDMA.
Scheduled to take place on 24th June from 18:00 to 21:30 BST, the online course spans three and a half hours. It aims to help participants gain a better understanding of MDMA and learn how to approach its use from a harm-reduction perspective.
Topics covered in the session include the history of the substance, the use of MDMA in nightclubs and festivals, potential future medical applications, the effects and risks of MDMA use, and how to adopt a harm reduction approach.
According to the event description, the course is "above entry-level, as it explores MDMA in depth". It also assumes "participants have a basic knowledge of MDMA".
“This course is designed for anyone who works with, or in environments where people take MDMA,” the event description continues. “This includes drugs services, universities, health services, local authorities, third sector, public health, police forces as well as the night-time economy, including event management, nightlife venues and organisations operating in leisure spaces.”
Since its founding in 2012, The Loop has provided invaluable support and harm reduction advice on drugs across the country. The charity hosted a similar online training course earlier this month, focusing on current drug use at music festivals.
Their free-drug checking services, like the one launched in Birstol earlier this year, has enabled them to identify and warn others of dangerous drugs in circulation.
For instance, in 2022, they issued alerts to festival-goers about high-strength and fake pills found at Secret Garden Party. In the same year, the charity also found MDMA pills at Parklife Festival that were 1.5 times stronger than that of a typical tablet.
Drug testing in the UK will resume this summer after controversial licensing laws saw reduced services in 2023. The Home Office confirmed that it has issued drug-testing licences to “some of the leading festivals in the UK”.
Earlier this year, Australian harm reduction groups urged the implementation of nationwide pill testing following a series of suspected MDMA overdoses at Melbourne's Hardmission festival.
Tickets for the upcoming training course are priced at £49, with a discounted rate of £29 available for those working in music festivals or the outdoor events industry, thanks to funding from The Purple Guide. You can secure yours here.
