The Green Party welcomes government support for a newly funded research project that will independently verify drug checking reduces harm at music festivals in New Zealand.

The Green Party recently tabled a 6,000 signature petition to Parliament to support drug checking, and has campaigned and worked across Parliament on this issue since the 2017 election.

“In an ideal world, communities would be completely free of drug use, where we all thrive and live healthy lives. Yet forty years of punitive legal sanctions have only driven problems further underground”, Green Party Drug Reform spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick said today.

“That’s why we welcome this independent research project, to indisputably test and report whether drug checking services will reduce harm and save lives here in New Zealand.

“Following international trends, this debut local, academic research will no doubt strengthen the case for legal drug checking here in New Zealand. It has the backing of a strong majority of New Zealanders, and now we’re following rigorous testing before taking important next steps.

“The Green Party have been pivotal in ensuring a harm reduction approach to drug use as part of this Government – a commitment contained in our Confidence and Supply agreement – and we are glad to be continuing it with today’s announcement.”

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