Manchester club night ‘first’ to offer urine tests onsite to check for spiking
Exclusive: ‘We’re going to be using that moving forward,’ Warehouse Project founder says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Manchester club night has started to roll out urine tests onsite for clubbers who fear they may have been spiked.
Sacha Lord, the Warehouse Project’s founder, told The Independent it was the first place to offer these tests to clubbers.
It comes amid nightclub boycotts and calls for greater action to tackle spiking.
Nearly 200 drink spiking incidents have been reported to police across the UK over the past two months, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said.
Mr Lord said the Warehouse Project, which runs club nights in Manchester, has taken action to protect clubbers by rolling out urine tests to check if they have been spiked.
“Our medics actually bought kits last week ... it’s a little like a pregnancy kit, if I’m being honest,” he told The Independent.
“You can take a urine sample and tell exactly what is in that.”
Health authorities urge anyone who thinks they may have been spiked to get tested as soon as possible, as most drugs leave the body within 12 to 72 hours.
Last week, a health leader told The Independent A&E departments do not generally test people who fear they have had their drink spiked.
Mr Lord said the Warehouse Project implemented the urine testing kits at the weekend. “And we’re going to be using that moving forward,” he added.
He said the Manchester club night was the “first ones” to do this.
In Devon and Cornwall, urine testing kits are available in police stations, with the force saying this allows it to gain evidence to hold perpetrators accountable.
Nightclubs across the country are also introducing drink testing kits, along with full body searches and other measures to tackle spiking.
Mr Lord said he supported measures in place to tackle spiking. But he added: “We’ve got a real education job to do here.
“Ultimately, I just don’t think it’s right that a woman should feel protected by a bottle top on the right out.”
Echoing comments made by Andy Burham, the mayor of Manchester, during a protest last week, he said: “We need to be looking at ourselves, as men, as lads, as boys. We are the problem.
“I’d urge anyone, if you know anybody that does this sort of thing - it’s a disgrace, they need calling out.”