Extract from ABC News
The Queensland government has announced it will be the second jurisdiction in Australia to provide illicit drug testing, aiming to change the behaviour of users and reduce the risk of harm.
But how will it actually work?
We've spoken to Pill Testing Australia, which is running Australia's first trial in Canberra that has just been extended due to its success.
How does it work?
It's not yet known how many fixed and mobile test sites there will be in Queensland, or what the demand will be.
Pill Testing Australia (PTA) said they saw 146 walk-ins in their first three months in Canberra.
Clients are asked if they really want to be taking drugs in the first place and if they'd like to throw them out.
"We don't tell people it's safe to use drugs," company spokesman Gino Vumbaca said.
If the client wants to continue to the testing room, they're asked to hand over their mobile phone to ensure privacy of others in the room.
They will then be asked for their age and who bought the drugs — no personal or identifying questions are asked.
PTA lead clinician and emergency medicine physician David Caldicott said they can then watch their drugs be tested.
The drugs are weighed and photographed, before a sample is put through a Fourier Transform Device Spectrometer (FTIR), which identifies different compounds.
A laser is used to catalogue the substance, like a fingerprint, and that information is stored in a database.
These "fingerprints" are then compared to tens of thousands of different chemical fingerprints stored on the database.
Another device is then used to measure potency — the Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography.
Dr Caldicott said they will then warn the client if their drugs contain something the lab hasn't been able to identify.
"Because we think it's a bad idea to consume something that contains unknown substances," Dr Caldicott said.
The testing process is estimated to take 15 minutes.
What is being found in pills?
Dr Caldicott said the Canberra trial had been successful in mitigating the amount of dangerous or lethal drugs participants have taken.
Between 20 to 30 per cent of people who used the service binned the drugs, the ACT trial found.
Dr Caldicott said the testing also changed how much of the drug clients consumed.
"They may decide not to throw it away, but they may choose to take half of it, or not use it with any other drugs, or use it much slower," he said.
The testing also identifies what fillers are used in the illicit drugs.
Dr Caldicott said it was not common to find harmful fillers, like Ratsack or glass shavings, as it would be counter intuitive for a dealer or producer to "kill off" their customers.
"Most of the substitutions that are dangerous are probably accidental and not deliberate," he said.
He said fillers like milk powder and toothpaste were more common.
What is more concerning is when a product is not what it's purported to be, for example a psychedelic is substituted for MDMA, and a customer unknowingly uses it in a dangerous way.
Who will be doing the testing?
The analysis of the drugs is completed by qualified chemists but there is also a medical lead on call — Dr Caldicott himself — who provides medical advice.
The "secret sauce" of the program's success, according to Dr Caldicott, is the peer group of regular people working with the clinicians.
Staff from a harm reduction service called DanceWize chat with the clients about their concerns, and are the connection between the client and the scientists and doctors.
"These are young adults, who have been part of the scene for a considerable amount of time," Dr Caldicott said.
"It is more about having a conversation with somebody your own age group, who knows a little bit more about the process than you do."
Can it prevent hospitalisations?
Maria Boulton, president of the Australian Medical Association of Queensland, thinks so.
"If we have fewer people overdosing, and if we have fewer people dying, that will put less pressure on the health system," she said.
There were 14,770 drug hospitalisations in Queensland in the 2020-21 financial year, a similar rate compared to the year before, figures from the federal government's National Illicit Drug Indicators Project showed.
Amphetamine-type stimulants were the most common admissions, however, there were significant increases in the rates of hospitalisations related to non-opioid analgesics, cannabinoids, and cocaine.
Hospitalisations from tobacco and alcohol are not included in the data, but are far more common, according to the Queensland government.
Dr Caldicott said the service focuses on harm reduction, rather than traditional drug ideology.
"This 100 per cent saves a life every day, because that encourages young people to have a conversation rather than be fearful about seeking help," he said.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the initiative will be "permanent".
She said it would be the first point of contact with health, drug or alcohol agencies for some people.
Furthermore, the government will use information from the program to alert the public when they find a new drug on the black market.
"This means people will reach out for help, stop using drugs and importantly not end up in our emergency departments or losing their lives."
What about the cost and location?
The government is still developing protocols around the operation of testing and will go out to market and identify a provider.
The program in Canberra has been free for clients, but it is not yet clear if that will be the case in Queensland.
The Queensland government is yet to reveal the program's budget but Dr Caldicott said the main costs would be the machines, which cost between $50,000 to $100,000, and personnel costs.
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