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Warwick SU set to offer free drug testing kits to students

Our survey revealed three quarters of Warwick students have taken drugs


Warwick's Student Union is working on a drugs policy that will make drug testing kits available to Warwick students.

The decision has been based upon findings that 72 per cent of Warwick students surveyed admitted to having taken drugs.

The Warwick SU for Safe and Sensible Drug Policy referred to media reports where students had taken a substance believing it to be MDMA, when in reality they had consumed but it’s actually para-Methoxyamphetamine. The effects of such consumption can be fatal.

The policy further asserts that "taking illegal substances should not be condoned. However it must be recognised that some students do and will continue to take drugs."

It is hoped that such a strategy will allow students to "make an informed decision about their choice to take drugs."

The provision of the kits, which has already been trialled at Manchester, LSE, Sussex and Newcastle, work on chemical reactions with different substances turning different colours.

As a result, students are able to identify what the substance contains and the presence of any potentially fatal contaminations. The kits will not test for purity of the drug.

They can be obtained independently from the university on a confidential basis.