How one patch of grass became the UK’s first ever decriminalised drugs space
Inside a previously unremarkable circle of grass about 10 metres in diameter, a bold new precedent for drugs policy was set in the UK. Pitched on the grass at the Secret Garden Party festival in Cambridgeshire, was a tent run by The Loop, a not for profit drug and alcohol service. For those few days it was the first ever de facto decriminalised space for possession of drugs in the UK.
Attendees of the festival could come to the tent and hand over to Loop staff a pill or small scoop of powder where it would be tested for content, purity and strength by a team of chemists without any police interference. This was not ‘drug checking’ to ensure safer consumption, but harm minimisation. And yes, it was legal. No drugs were returned to users and all drugs were destroyed in the testing process, with police collecting any remnants.
Original Article (Politics.co.uk):
How one patch of grass became the UK’s first ever decriminalised drugs space
Artwork Fair Use: Steven Gerner
