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Gear Fear: The campaign advising and educating individuals on the drugs they take through front of house testing

  • Raising awareness to the substances found in recreational drugs through front of house testing.
  • Mandatory drug testing stations to be in every nightclub in Manchester.
  • Encouraging individuals to think twice once they have the appropriate information 

Gear Fear is a campaign aimed at raising awareness to the dangers of recreational drugs, by giving individuals the relevant information to make an informed decision. To do this, every nightclub in Manchester should have mandatory front of house drug testing stations.

Since the UKs first reported ecstasy related death when Claire Leighton died in the Hacienda in 1989, drug related deaths have been on the rise. With deaths related to ecstasy use in England and Wales being 10 in 2010 to 57 in 2015 and 66.1 in 2017.

According to Night Lives recent drug report, every death that occurs due to drugs, a week of police time is required with cost in excess of £10,000 of taxpayers’ money. For Manchester, drug misuse has led to many nightclub venues being closed including a party-goers favourite, Sankeys.

In 2014, the charity ‘The Loop’ was founded. The charity has the equipment to detect any substance found within 60 seconds of testing. After collaborating up with Manchester’s The Warehouse Project the pilot saw to 1 in 5 people disposing their drugs after discovering that it was not what they first thought.

Studies undergone by Royal Society for Public Health in 2017 show that 32% of festival goers and 30% of clubbers say they would definitely or probably not take their drugs if testing revealed the content was not what they expected, whether that be substance or strength whilst 45% and 46% said they would take less or be more careful.

It is time to test our drugs and hit #GearFear on the head.

​Help make a difference and sign the petition today: change.org