Camilo (he/him) is a chemist and the president of Reduciendo Daño (RD). In 2018, he founded RD with the aim of promoting safer environments through drug testing and education. Drawing on his lived experience with substance use, he passionately advocates for community-based harm reduction strategies on national and international platforms.

Issue: Empowering users to make informed decisions when using drugs is crucial in times of increased use of drug cocktails and exposure to a wider range of psychoactive substances. The legal status of testing kits in Chile allows for an educational approach to drug checking.
Setting: Reduciendo Daño (RD) is a Chilean non-profit organization which primary goal is to provide harm reduction tools to people who use drugs and engage with the community. RD specializes in fabricating and distributing color spot tests, particularly self-testing kits. In 2019, RD started the drug-checking program (DCP) to make drug checking more accessible in party settings.
Project: DCP provides testing materials and harm reduction education. When event organizers authorize drug checking, RD offers chemical drug analysis to detect the presence of substances, such as MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine. For those interested in screening their supply, a team member will ask about the substance they expect it to contain. Users are responsible for manipulating the sample, and trained team members apply colorimetric reagents according to RD protocols. Results are immediately available; users observe the testing process firsthand.
Outcomes: In 2023, we attended more than 50 events across Chile, collecting data in 14 events. Of the 597 samples analyzed, most (68%) were described as ecstasy, and its presence was confirmed in 75% of them; of the 13% presented as tusi, 40% tested positive for ketamine only, 24% were drug combinations (ketamine and MDMA/cathinones), and 36% contained unknown/undetectable substances; 6% of samples were described as ketamine and 6% as cocaine, and 76% and 59% tested positive for each substance, respectively.
RD has fostered an unprecedented harm reduction culture among people who use drugs in Chile through education and the distribution of color spot tests. This work showcases RD experience with a drug checking strategy and its impact.