Drug testing: Could services in Northern Ireland tackle substance issues?

Some have argued such facilities normalise drug taking. But there are some who think they are vital.

Georgia Jones, 18, died following a cardiac arrest and a 50-minute fit after taking two MDMA pills – found to be roughly six-times stronger than usual – at Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth in 2018.

Her mum, Janine Milburn, said while she was aware her daughter had tried drugs before, she thinks testing services could have helped.

“In my eyes, it gives people another barrier so they decide they’re going to take a substance, they maybe haven’t done it before or only done it a couple of times, they don’t really know what they’re doing,” she said.

“It gives them a professional to go to, but it also gives them another chance to say I’m not going to do it now.”