ID: HR19-811

Presenting author: Laurene COLLARD

Presenting author biography:

Laurene Collard is a senior project manager at Federation Addiction, the main professionnal addictology network in France, working with Medecins du Monde and the french branch of EMCDDA to help professionnals in carrying out drug-checking techniques throughout the country. She will bring with MdM and the French Observatory, their expertise.

Developing a national network of drug checking services in France: how to ensure the best possible articulation between mainstream harm reduction services and the national monitoring system?

Laurene COLLARD, Gregory PFAU, Thomas NEFAU

Issue
- The uncertain composition of illicit drugs
- The composition of drugs is a frequent concern for drug users.
- Drug checking, a harm reduction and monitoring tool
Settings
Since 1999, the French monitoring centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction manage a monitoring program based on the collection and the analyses of illicit drugs. It allows to react in case of serious adverse events and continuously improving knowledge on illicit drug uses and consumption practices.
In addition, the French NGO Médecins du Monde (MdM) has developed a specific drug checking with face to face interviews in order to prevent consumptions of unknown substances and to improve individual knowledge. Supported by Federation Addiction (FA), this service is a very effective harm reduction tool.

Project
Today, the harm reduction network model results in fully competent autonomous drug checking services conducted by 41 various organizations, located in 8 regions in France. FA as a training organization, and working on improving professional practices, contributes to the program dissemination.
SINTES program is based on the network of more than 400 people involved in drug users’ care. They collect illicit drugs and NPS when they caused adverse effects. But also when substances cannot be identified by the analytical method used by the drug checking program developed by MdM. SINTES helps improving the mainstream drug checking services and knowledge on drug consumption.

Outcome
The two systems are complementary and have analyzed more than 1,500 samples in 2017.
The current challenges are as follows:
- Spread drug checking at a national level
- Ensure the recognition and funding by the public authorities;
- Establish one reference laboratory per region;
- Strengthen the articulation and improve data exchanges between national drug monitoring and local harm reduction services;
- Carry out an evaluation of the global drug checking system.