Drug checking services receive public funding ahead of this summer’s busy season

KnowYourStuffNZ is grateful to receive public funding to support our drug checking service, announced today by the Minister of Health. Aotearoa New Zealand is the first nation to have fully-legal and publicly funded drug checking. We look forward to continuing our service at festivals and public clinics this summer and on. We also appreciate thatContinue reading “Drug checking services receive public funding ahead of this summer’s busy season”

Article on UK festival drug checking published

Professor Fiona Measham (The Loop UK and University of Liverpool) and data scientist Henry Simmons (Envelop Risk Analytics and Durham University) have released an article on drug checking at festivals in the UK in 2018. They wanted to get a snapshot of which demographics were using drug checking, what kind of harm reduction services they’dContinue reading “Article on UK festival drug checking published”

Metonitazene, a high-risk opioid’s been found in Aotearoa

Metonitazene has shown up in Aotearoa for the first time. It’s being sold as oxycodone or other opioids, and is either a yellow pill or yellow powder. Metonitazene is an opioid analgesic in the Nitazene family. It’s more potent than fentanyl It comes on very fast and very strong, giving a depressive or sedative effectContinue reading “Metonitazene, a high-risk opioid’s been found in Aotearoa”

Cocaine: Know your stuff, NZ with KnowYourStuffNZ

Cocaine is a stimulant and alkaloid drug that’s extracted from the leaves of two coca plant species native to South America. It’s manufactured into three different forms: cocaine – a fine powder; crack cocaine – small rocks; freebase cocaine – a crystallised powder. Both crack and freebase can be heated until sublimated and then inhaled,Continue reading “Cocaine: Know your stuff, NZ with KnowYourStuffNZ”

A word about methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is the black sheep of the amphetamine drug family. It has an almost polar opposite reputation to MDMA, the other popular drug in the very broad amphetamine family. Methamphetamine has a high redose compulsion and, like other amphetamines, is an appetite suppressant and a disinhibitor; which is not the best combination if you wantContinue reading “A word about methamphetamine”