UK festivals: What's going on with drug testing in 2023?

Chloe was astatine a euphony festival past summertime erstwhile connection got retired that a lad had been recovered dormant successful his structure from a suspected cause overdose.

Later that day, an alert went retired connected the festival's authoritative app informing everyone astir a batch of "fatally strong" MDMA pills, says Chloe (not her existent name).

"All billboards astir the arena had a connection excessively telling everybody not to instrumentality them," she says.

Chloe believes that, due to the fact that of each the warnings, cipher other astatine the festival was harmed that weekend.

What she's described is simply a effect of on-site cause testing.

It's been happening astatine UK festivals for astir 10 years, and is simply a mode to place perchance deadly substances and pass radical astir them.

But the brag of Parklife has told BBC Newsbeat determination could beryllium nary on-site cause investigating astatine UK euphony festivals this summer.

Sacha Lord founded the Manchester event, which couldn't person cause tests on-site erstwhile it took spot earlier this month.

He says they've done this since 2014, but helium was told a peculiar licence would beryllium needed this year.

Sacha says the Home Office informed him conscionable 48 hours earlier the commencement of the event, but the exertion process takes 3 months.

The requirements of the licence would person made it hard to transportation retired tests successful a portable compartment - which is usually wherever festival investigating is done - according to Sacha.

He says the festival antecedently worked with constabulary and the section assembly to let cause investigating to spell ahead, and accused the authorities of doing a "u-turn" connected the issue.

Sacha, who's besides Manchester's nightlife system advisor to Labour politician Andy Burnham, believes that this volition impact each UK festivals this year.

"As it stands now, determination is nary investigating this summer," helium said.

"It's Glastonbury this weekend, the biggest festival of the year.

"I americium really, truly acrophobic astir the information of many, galore customers."

His worries were backed up by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) - which represents businesses similar nightclubs, bars and festivals.

CEO Michael Kill called for clarity and said the evident "unexplained u-turn" could enactment lives astatine hazard and person "considerable ramifications for the existent festival season".

The Home Office says its presumption hasn't changed and investigating has ever required a licence.

Newsbeat has contacted Glastonbury Festival to inquire astir its plans for cause investigating this year.

Festivals are truly keen to constituent retired that they don't condone oregon promote drug-taking.

So galore large UK festivals enactment a harm simplification approach, and on-site investigating is simply a large portion of this.

Most events bash this "back-of-house" via a 3rd party, utilizing confiscated drugs oregon substances near successful amnesty bins.

If testers find that thing is perchance unsafe - stronger than usual, contaminated, oregon sold arsenic thing it's not - they'll enactment a informing retired to festival-goers.

Another method, called front-of-house testing, is wherever radical tin instrumentality drugs to beryllium tested to marque definite they're safe.

It's been trialled but is little popular. The brag of Leeds and Reading Festivals has antecedently said helium was acrophobic it could springiness radical mendacious confidence.

Meg is simply a DJ who's worked connected payment teams astatine festivals with on-site cause investigating and events without it.

"I've had immoderate experiences earlier wherever I've been looking aft 16-year-old girls who've taken mode much than they thought they had," she says.

"Or that pill that they've taken is not precisely what they thought it was going to be.

Meg says these situations are "massively reduced" erstwhile there's investigating on-site due to the fact that it means much accusation is available.

"And past we cognize however to woody with it," she says.

If the substance has been tested on-site the payment teams volition cognize if it's extra-strong oregon isn't what the idiosyncratic thought it was.

"Because there's plentifulness of times wherever that could hap and it tin origin superior harm to the idiosyncratic who's taking the drug," says Meg.

BBC Newsbeat asked the Home Office to respond to Sacha Lord's proposition it had u-turned connected back-of-house testing.

"Our presumption hasn't changed. Drug investigating providers indispensable person a licence to trial for controlled drugs, including astatine festivals," a spokesperson said.

"We person consistently made this information clear, and instrumentality enforcement person ever had a work to uphold this ineligible requirement.

"We person not received immoderate applications for cause investigating astatine the large festivals this summer. We proceed to support an unfastened dialog with immoderate imaginable applicants."

But Sacha says it's "ridiculous" to assertion that thing has changed, and the manufacture is considering taking ineligible enactment against the government.

The Loop - which has provided astir back-of-house investigating astatine UK festivals - told Newsbeat it couldn't comment.

Listen to Newsbeat live astatine 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - oregon perceive backmost here.