Unexpected substances found in 1-in-5 drug samples as new Australian research backs wider drug checking
Research from Australia’s first comprehensive drug checking trial within a supervised injecting facility has found more than 1-in-5 drug samples contained unexpected substances including potentially life-threatening adulterants and synthetic drugs.
With overdose deaths in Australia now double the road toll (nearly all of which are accidental and preventable), these findings add urgency to the calls for expanding access to drug checking, supervised injecting services and increased access to the overdose reversal medicine naloxone.
Importantly, researchers also found drug checking delivers benefits well beyond identifying unexpected substances. The additional service within Sydney’s supervised injecting centre created more opportunities for therapeutic conversations about drug use, encouraged safer behaviours and connected people with treatment and health supports.
Dr Rob Page, Addiction Medicine Specialist, (trial drug clinician/trial research paper co-author), and chief investigator at The Loop Australia, said:
“We detected unexpected substances such as phenacetin in drugs bought as cocaine and bromazolam in what was supposed to be Xanax. These can be highly toxic and potentially deadly synthetic chemicals and their discovery reinforces what we’re seeing today – an increasingly unpredictable illicit drug market.”
“We know more about the positive impact of drug checking at festivals but there has been far less research into drug checking among people injecting or experiencing dependent substance use, or those with greater structural vulnerability. This trial fills that gap by providing important new evidence that drug checking is feasible, acceptable and has an immediate positive impact for people who use drugs.”
The trial results published this week in the International Journal of Drug Policy also revealed:
· Almost half (42%) of participants sought further drug treatment information.
· 1-in-5 (20%) of participants were directly referred to support services or into treatment.
· Nearly all participants (98%) wanted drug checking available on every visit.
· 75% of participants had drugs remaining post testing. Of these, 90% said they intended to use them, with 12% saying they’d now carry naloxone; 10% said they’d reduce their intended dosage.
· 98% said they’d inform at least one other person if unexpected substances were detected.
MSIC’s Medical Director Dr Marianne Jauncey added: “Our service exclusively sees people who inject drugs – so providing access to drug checking services here makes perfect sense. We needed to know if offering such a service was feasible onsite, and if our consumers accepted it. This study shows the answer is clearly a yes. The question is no longer whether these services work, the question is why they remain so limited.”
The trial results also echo the Federal Government’s recommendations in its recent Report on the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia, which calls for expansion of permanent drug
checking services and more supervised injecting facilities, opioid dependence therapy, take-home naloxone, and culturally safe harm reduction education in communities across the country.
Last month in NSW, the Minns government took an important first step towards a broader approach to reducing harm, by announcing permanent drug checking at 15 music festivals. However, we need to move beyond the festival gate.
Uniting is calling on the NSW Government to establish permanent fixed-site drug checking services and expand supervised injecting spaces beyond Kings Cross.
“We’ve previously offered to host community-based drug checking services at St Stephen’s Uniting Church – located directly opposite NSW Parliament House. That offer still stands,” said Dr Jauncey.
Megan, a participant in the MSIC onsite drug checking research trial said: “Access to proven harm reduction service shouldn’t depend on where you live, or the circumstances in which you use drugs. Every person who uses drugs deserves access to harm reduction services that will help keep them safe.”
“Throughout my 20+ years of substance use history, this was the first time ever I actually knew for certain what I was injecting into my body. Access to information shouldn’t be a privilege. It can be the difference between life and death,” said Megan.
Uniting NSW.ACT runs the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre and has spearheaded the Fair Treatment Campaign for fairer drug laws for over seven years.
