CanTEST, a drug testing organisation in Canberra, has revealed some of its findings from testing substances during tis first month of operation.
Since July, the CanTEST program in Canberra has been testing drugs within the territory, as Australia’s first government pill testing service.
The Australian National University (ANU) post on the findings indicates that users can present their drugs to CanTEST for testing, to flag potentially hazardous ingredients.
“Results from the first month provide a fascinating window on the local drug scene,” the post reads.
“They also suggest the service is reaching a far broader cross-section of the drug-taking community than what was possible from Australia’s first festival-based pill testing services conducted in previous years.”
Many of the findings have been reported on in detail over the past week, but it’s important to underscore why this is such a big thing.
“The idea that Australia will ever be ‘drug-free’ is magical thinking, from a bygone era; an era that has singularly failed in the goals which it espoused,” the post added.
“Using the results obtained from the process, we are engaging with a new generation of young consumers, many of whom have never sought advice on their drug consumption before now.”
Put simply, this isn’t an operation that’s encouraging drug use, but rather encouraging safety when taking drugs.
It’s also looking out for potential dangers to the community when a hazardous substance is detected in testing. Drug use is on the rise in Australia (excluding ecstasy), so this is absolutely a welcome thing.
CanTEST puts the drugs through several tests to identify what they are and if they are harmful. This includes infra-red testing to identify drugs on the infra-red spectrum and liquid tests to separate compounds so that they can be identified and quantified from their ultraviolet absorbance.
Infra-red testing is commonly used to test drugs at festivals, while the liquid testing is “the real pill testing fire power,” as it provides drug purity results and can separate drug components.
So what has CanTEST found so far? A highlight of the study is that there was a “small but sizable minority” where adulteration or even substitution was used with a presented drug.
While every heroin sample contained the expected substance, only three in five cocaine samples actually contained cocaine.
By way of thanks to all who used our CanTEST service in our first month, here’s a snapshot of what we’ve found.
Face-to-face testing, representing best practice in Australia, with even a higher rate of discard than at our festivals.https://t.co/O65omPWdgG pic.twitter.com/bpqb2dIcaB— David Caldicott (@ACTINOSProject) August 24, 2022
“One presentation lacked cocaine entirely, instead containing the relatively benign crystalline substance, dimethyl sulfone — an organic compound containing sulphur. This might be of further concern to those monitoring the surge of cocaine in Australia in recent months,” the post adds.
Also present in testing was 6-APB, which is a drug similar to MDMA and can reportedly give similar effects. The sample tested turned out to be a completely different stimulant drug known as 4-EMC, which has been found in wastewater samples across Australia.
Additionally, one of the ketamine samples presented contained an unknown substance and not ketamine at all.
The substance was later tested at ANU, where it turned out to be fluorexetamine (not to be confused with fluoxetine, which is known as prozac), a ketamine derivative “for which there is almost no scientific information available”. Little is known about its effects or safety concerns surrounding it.
Hopefully, the operation of CanTEST will inform testing in other parts of the country and will lead to more widespread. use of the service.
You can read about CanTEST’s drug testing results on the ANU website.
If you’re struggling with drug addiction, call the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline on 1800 250 015, the Stimulant Treatment Line on 1800 101 188 or the Opioid Treatment Line on 1800 642 428.