New online training dates are now available from The Loop. Our sessions draw on our expertise in drug checking, harm reduction and emerging drug market trends, combining current evidence with practical knowledge. Explore the full programme: tinyurl.com/yvprn5ze
Fiona Measham
@fmeasham.bsky.social
* Chair in Criminology, University of Liverpool * Founder, The Loop @theloopuk.bsky.social & The Loop Australia * Yoga & meditation instructor, Yoga Alliance Professionals * Manchester, UK * Also @FMeasham on X
The link to @whatareyou0n.bsky.social’s July 2016 Vice article from the only journalist onsite with @theloopuk.bsky.social that weekend in Cambridgeshire:- www.vice.com/en/article/d...
We Went Drug Testing at Secret Garden Party to See What Weird Shit Ends Up in Your Drugs
The Loop, a drugs harm reduction organisation, pioneered a drug testing scheme at the festival that found – among other things – concrete and malaria pills in what was supposed to be ecstasy and ketam...
vice.com
Thank you to @whatareyou0n.bsky.social for a lovely piece reflecting on the 1st drug checking service in the UK which launched 10 years ago this week. Interviews with the people who were there including @steverolles.bsky.social, Henry Fisher & Freddie Fellowes. What a weekend! ♾️💜♾️
Ten years after The Loop delivered the UK’s first drug checking service, David Hillier looks back at the people, negotiations and years of work behind that moment and the journey that followed. Read Checkmate: tinyurl.com/yj383p9r @whatareyou0n.bsky.social @fmeasham.bsky.social
Happy 10th birthday to #drugchecking in the UK! Drug checking has grown from 1 festival field to 4 Home Office-licensed city drug checking services by @theloopuk.bsky.social & more opening this year. Thank you to all supporters, staff, stakeholders & especially The Loop’s amazing volunteers. ♾️💜♾️
Ten years ago today, The Loop introduced drug checking in the UK, at Secret Garden Party and Kendal Calling festivals.
Thank you to Alison Bell @somersetccc.bsky.social for supporting #drugchecking. The more DPHs who support this, the quicker we can achieve universal access to drug checking services across the UK & the quicker we can tackle drug-related death rates. #drugchecking can be the canary in the coalmine 🔔
It is heartening to hear Directors of Public Health step forward to support #DrugChecking like this. Drug checking is a pragmatic harm reduction response to contaminated drug markets and drug-related deaths across the UK. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... @fmeasham.bsky.social #JustSayKnow #TimeToTest
‘The task facing a mature society is to adapt its methods of financing universities to sustaining the purposes for which such institutions exist – rather than, as at present, the other way round.’ Stefan Collini on what went wrong with UK higher education. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Stefan Collini · Squadrons of Pigs: Bonfire of the Universities
The problems with Britain’s universities are systemic and deep-rooted, not just local or contingent. Yet political and...
lrb.co.uk
Proud to announce that @theloopuk.bsky.social has started 2 regular drug checking services in London, with a 3rd opening soon! Free, non judgmental #harmreduction advice from dedicated professionals. Read @whatareyou0n.bsky.social’s article here:- whatareyouon.substack.com/p/inside-the...
Inside the Loop's London Launch
An A–K of the capital’s new drug checking service
whatareyouon.substack.com
Tomorrow we are drug checking in #Camden How does it work? 1. Surrender a substance 2. Tell us what you think it is & about your drug use 3. We do lab tests inc. a test for synthetic opioids 4. After ~1 hour, we have results & can give honest advice wearetheloop.org/drug-checking
As featured at @fabriclondon.bsky.social! The Loop #harmreduction infographics are designed to be printed XXL for nightclub, festival & hall of residence walls. Download all 4 infographics at @theloopuk.bsky.social website for ✨free✨! #JustSayKnow
Today is #InternationalDrugCheckingDay Our free & confidential service is for all. Our next drug checking dates are: - 4th April in Camden - 18th April in Hackney - 25th April in Bristol Find out more, including where to go on our website: wearetheloop.org/drug-checking
⚠️ We have launched 2 new drug checking services in London - in @hackneycouncil.bsky.social & @camdencouncil.bsky.social. Read our statement below & check out our website for more info: wearetheloop.org/media-centre...
This Saturday we are back in Bristol City Centre with our FREE drug checking service 📅 Saturday, 28th February 🕗12-7pm 📍Bristol Drugs Project, 11 Brunswick Square, BS2 8PE Visit our website for more information: wearetheloop.org/drug-checking
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
Fascinating piece by @whatareyou0n.bsky.social on fear, fun, (lack of) alcohol & generational change in nightlife, with brief comment from my students. open.substack.com/pub/whatarey...
should Young People drink more?
Fear in the age of abstinence
open.substack.com
Happy 2nd birthday to regular #drugchecking in the UK! Watch the video charting the launch of @theloopuk.bsky.social Bristol drug checking service, containing interviews with senior chemist Guy, senior health professional Debs & CEO Katy at the launch. 2 years of testing, learning & #harmreduction.
Two years of Home Office licensed city centre drug checking. Two years of honest conversations, evidence-led harm reduction, and meeting people where they are. This video was made for our launch. In 2026, drug checking is growing into more city centres. www.facebook.com/reel/1606758...
School of the Arts @sotauol.bsky.social showing off its fine compositional skills here, as you would expect 🎨🏛️
The UK's first safer drug consumption facility has registered 575 users in its first year. The Thistle in Glasgow has been accessed 11,348 times and used for 7,827 injections of illegal drugs. Staff on site also managed 93 medical emergencies. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK's first legal drug consumption room registers almost 600 users
The Thistle in Glasgow has been used for 7,827 injections of illegal drugs in its first year.
bbc.co.uk
Fireworks, pyrotechnics, sparklers, flares… Please can we ban them from basement nightclubs with flammable soundproofing, only 1 exit up a narrow staircase, & no functioning alarms, extinguishers or sprinklers? Or, can we just ban fireworks from indoor venues full stop? news.sky.com/story/how-in...
How indoor fireworks keep causing deadly nightclub infernos
Swiss officials think sparklers were the likely cause of a New Year's Eve tragedy, making it the latest in a long line of bar blazes where fireworks have been blamed.
news.sky.com
When people say they want to go back to a time "when men were men", I point them to Issue 2528 of the "Men in Belted Sweaters" catalogue.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic abuse, sexual violence or any other form of violence against women, our Live Fear Free Helpline is open 24/7, including Christmas and New Year. We are here for whatever you need, whether that's support, advice or just a listening ear.
Some regular MDMA users are unaware that MDMA itself can cause overdose & death. ~80 people die in the UK every year from MDMA overdose, not adulterants, contaminants or a ‘bad batch’. The current trend for dissolving in drinks is an additional risk factor in many of these. #CrushDabWait 👟👇🕑
40% of MDMA users in this year’s #EnglishFestivalSurvey said they put it in a drink. If you do this, dose size can be hard to judge & last sips may be stronger. Crush finely, mix well, label your bottle, stay hydrated, avoid mixing, & wait 90 mins before redosing. #GoSlowStayLow
I am trying to get hold of Alasdair Forsyth, esteemed writer of many academic articles about nightlife in the 90s + 2000s. He has dropped off the radar and I can't get him through his old university (Glasgow Caledonian) and not turned him up on social. Does anyone have a lead? @fmeasham.bsky.social
#TakeQuarterSipWater #CrushDabWait #GoSlowStayLow More harm reduction advice & drug testing info at: www.wearetheloop.org
The Loop
wearetheloop.org
💊 The average MDMA pill we tested this year contained 192mg - nearly double a common dose. 97% had over 100mg. 42% over 200mg. Too much MDMA alone can cause serious harm. #GoSlowStayLow & wait 90+ mins before considering redosing.
Thoughtful, humble, passionate about music. Lovely man. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
This Cultural Life - Mark Ronson - BBC Sounds
Music producer and songwriter Mark Ronson reveals his creative influences and experiences.
bbc.co.uk
The Loop is well represented at #CDP25 with *5* volunteers from @theloopuk.bsky.social & The Loop AU & another *3* whose work was presented. I presented on our poppers paper published in BJC, written wth @markmccormack.bsky.social, @liamwignall.bsky.social & Henry Simmons. £0 doi.org/10.1093/bjc/...
Always exciting to get a new book through the post, especially one on the changing world of #drag. With a chapter by @markmccormack.bsky.social & I, as part of our wider @artscouncilengland.bsky.social funded queer nightlife research. @astonuniversity.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social
Tonight! 8pm BBC Panorama featuring @theloopuk.bsky.social in action testing at a festival last month & interviews with @ukguyjones.bsky.social & I.