BBC News Online: UK

Calls to ban ecstasy testing kit

The kit aims to allow users to test the purity of the illegal drug.

It works by mixing a scraping of a tablet with a special liquid and testing the result against a swatch of seven different colours to identify the contents, the inventors claim.

Among those who want the kit banned is the government's anti-drugs co-ordinator, Keith Hellawell, who called it an "immoral, money making venture."

"It's something we ought to stop before it starts," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I think it's immoral, just a money-making venture going on the back of the trend in young people taking drugs."

It was a "step too far" to suggest to people that it was safe to take a drug, said the drugs czar.

The test itself was "extremely crude" he said. It identified a number of substances that may be in a tablet, but did not pick out what else may be in it.

Even a pure ecstasy tablet was life-threatening to many people, he said.

"Therefore, it [the kit] is building false confidence. It's immoral and just a crude measure for money-making."

Ecstasy damaged all parts of the system, and people were getting involved with other drugs, as they took them to counteract the effects of ecstasy, Mr Hellawell said.

The number of people using ecstasy had begun to drop, he said, adding: "My worry is that this sort of thing [the kit] may encourage other people to take it."

But Tony Puglio, one of the inventors of the testing kit, believes it could save lives.

Information from the kit will allow drug users to make informed decisions before they take ecstasy, he claims.

He told BBC One O'Clock News: "All drugs carry risks and we assume that people who use the kit will already be taking those drugs.

"Because ecstasy manufacture is unmonitored there are a variety of drugs inside the pills and all of those have different mental and emotional affects.

"What the kit does is to assist you what substance is in the pill and gives you some information on the effects."

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