A free drug testing organization in Berlin has given nearly half of its tested samples a concerning “warning” classification.
According to Berlin public news outlet RBB, Drugchecking.berlin has tested 428 samples since it launched the recent testing project in early June—a rate of 47 samples per week—with between 30 and 50 percent of them meriting a warning status.
According to the program’s website, these warning designations are given to drugs that are incorrectly labeled, contain impurities, or are abnormally strong.
As part of the testing process, substances are first anonymously and legally analyzed by Berlin’s State Institute for Forensic and Social Medicine before being processed by Drugchecking.berlin’s testing centers.
Program users then receive testing results about three days after submitting samples in person or via phone. The most frequently submitted substances include ecstasy, ketamine, amphetamines, mephedrone, cocaine, and LSD.
RBB reports that Drugchecking.berlin’s program seeks to help individuals “make more conscious decisions and minimize the risk that always accompanies consumption,” as well as facilitating “early detection of new consumption trends and the identification of contaminated black market products.”
A spokesperson for the city’s Senate Administration told German news organization Deutsche Presse-Agentur that demand for the free testing program has far exceeded its capacity and around 380 potential users have had to be turned away.
More information on Drugchecking.berlin’s free testing program can be found here.
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