Govt moves on drug checking to keep young New Zealanders safer this summer

By Andrew Little, New Zealand Minister of Health

The Government will pass time limited legislation to give legal certainty to drug checking services, so they can carry out their work to keep New Zealanders safer this summer at festivals without fear of prosecution, Health Minister Andrew Little says.

Next year the Government will develop and consult on regulations to provide a long-term solution.

Until today, drug checking services such as Know Your Stuff, who test festival goers’ drugs for high risk substances and dangerous impurities and offer safety advice, have effectively been operating illegally.