The discussions revolved around topics such as the prevention of harmful substance use, addressing violence and mental health issues associated with substance use, promoting diversity and inclusion, and implementing harm reduction measures in nightlife settings.

Drug checking – an essential service that is still underdeveloped or nonexistent in many European countries – has been discussed in several sessions. Existing drug-checking services predominantly focus on recreational drug use, leaving a significant gap in monitoring and understanding new drug trends. Drug checking plays a vital role in obtaining a reliable overview of emerging drug patterns, to which Daan van der Gouwe’s presentation in a parallel session dedicated to interventions and innovation aimed to draw attention. 

While introducing the preliminary results on new drug trends detected by C-EHRN’s Focal Points as part of C-EHRN’s Civil Society-led Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe, the necessity of extending drug-checking services to individuals with more vulnerable patterns of high-risk drug use, particularly those who frequent harm reduction facilities, was also emphasized.

The conference highlighted that there is a pressing need for advancements in technology and service offerings to facilitate timely and low-threshold testing of substances commonly used by more vulnerable groups, including crack cocaine and heroin.