A look back: Drug checking at the Street Parade 2024

The Drug Information Center (DIZ) was once again on site at this year's Street Parade Zurich with its drug checking service. For the first time, we had two different locations where partygoers could have psychoactive substances tested anonymously and free of charge. In addition to the drug checking service, visitors were able to stock up on safer use information, condoms and water and take advantage of the advice and information on offer. From 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. , our team analyzed around thirty samples at the new location at Langstrasse 14. In addition, around 110 samples from festival visitors were handed in for analysis at the usual location on Bürkliplatz from 1 p.m. to midnight.

As every year at the Street Parade, MDMA (in pill and powder form), cocaine and amphetamine were the substances most frequently handed in. The Drug Checking Laboratory analyzed a total of 49 samples declared as cocaine, 43 samples declared as MDMA pills, 20 MDMA powder samples, 10 amphetamine samples and 3 LSD samples. In addition to the substances mentioned, ketamine was also tested in isolated cases (5 samples). This distribution of substances also roughly reflects the sample diversity of the mobile drug checking service in clubs and at other events in Zurich.

When evaluating the samples from the 2024 Street Parade, it is particularly noticeable that the average cocaine content of the cocaine samples handed in was 74.7%, which is lower than the cocaine samples analyzed for the year as a whole (86.9% in 2023). In addition, 17 of the 49 cocaine samples contained the local anaesthetic procaine, one cocaine sample contained no active substance at all and one cocaine sample contained only the painkiller paracetamol. Methamphetamine and no cocaine was detected in one cocaine sample, which represents a particularly high risk potential.

24 of the 43 MDMA pills ("ecstasy") supplied were high-dose with an active ingredient content of over 120mg MDMA, 13 of the MDMA pills supplied were even extremely high-dose with a content of over 200mg MDMA. In these cases, a warning was sent to the users of the offer when the results were transmitted and the high-dose MDMA pills were published in the form of an online warning. A total of 3 pills declared as MDMA that contained no active ingredient and one MDMA pill that contained an unknown active ingredient were also distributed at Street Parade 2024. The highest measured active ingredient content in an MDMA pill at Street Parade 2024 was 298.7 mg MDMA, which is three to four times the average dosage. High-dose MDMA pills in particular pose a potential risk every year: MDMA overdose can cause muscle spasms and hallucinations. Body temperature is greatly increased; there is a risk of heatstroke and even cerebral edema or multiple organ failure.

With a total of 140 samples and a continuous need for advice until midnight, DIZ Zurich once again recorded a record number of visitors this year. As part of the safer use program, partygoers are advised to buy psychoactive substances from a trustworthy source before the event and to have them tested beforehand in a drug checking service if they decide to consume them. It is also recommended to adhere to the substance-specific safer use rules and not to experiment with consumption at major events.