3. A trip through Kosmicare's drug checking service

Drug checking services allow people who use drugs to analyse the drugs they intend to use and get specialized counselling. They work as an effective market monitoring tool. Still, they are, in essence, a fundamental public health strategy that helps prevent the use of dangerous or very adulterated substances and promotes safer use. This service provided by Kosmicare is unique in Portugal, which despite its progressive drug policies, is still a prohibitionist country with an unregulated drug supply. We explain the analysis process from sample collection to providing results using an immersive technique, and present our onsite and stationary services. One operates in a city centre drop-in and the other in a mobile unit next to a local assisted consumption site.

By:

• Kosmicare Association (Portugal)