PILL TESTING - Bonger Instituut

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Background
‘Pill testing’ was introduced in the Netherlands at a very early stage, shortly after ecstasy
began to spread. It was seen as an intervention to reduce the risks of ecstasy
use. Testing was initially performed on a limited scale, mainly on-site at large dance
events. Fairly soon thereafter, in 1992, the Drugs Information and Monitoring System
(DIMS) was created at the national level. Among the tasks of this agency – which is
part of the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Institute) in
Utrecht – are the coordination of pill testing at the various testing sites throughout the
country and the nationwide ‘monitoring’ and ‘surveillance’ of illicit drug markets. Testing
ecstasy pills enables experts to follow developments in the ecstasy market (monitoring)
and to launch warning campaigns in the event that hazardous pill types come
to light (surveillance). The purpose of pill testing, then as now, has not been just to
assess the content (quality and quantity of the ingredients) of pills sold as ecstasy,
but also – and in the view of some, primarily – to educate people about drugs.
Pill testing at raves and other events was discontinued in 1999. Currently pill testing
is carried out exclusively ‘in the office’. 41 Even though the number of offices where
pills can be tested has been significantly expanded, the number of pills tested has
declined in recent years. That increasingly hampers the ability of DIMS to monitor
trends in the ecstasy market, and this reduced ‘visibility’ has prompted a search for
new ways to improve the monitoring of party drugs. Theoretically, mobile testing facilities
located at places where drug use actually occurs, like dance parties and clubs,
could be employed for this purpose.
On 29 January 2002, the Lower Chamber of the Dutch Parliament passed a motion
(24 007, no. 98) asking the government to reject any resumption of pill testing at
dance events. Before coming to a final decision on carrying out the motion, the Cabi-
net decided to commission a systematic study to compare the pill testing done at the
currently existing locations with other procedures that could potentially improve the
monitoring of party drugs.
41 The offices also test ecstasy in other forms, such as powder, as well as other drugs, but these fall outside the
scope of this report.
85