Released 19/07/2022
The ACT Government has launched Australia’s first fixed-site health and drug checking service in Canberra as a six-month pilot.
CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service will be run by Directions Health Services in partnership with Pill Testing Australia and Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy.
The service will provide chemical analysis of drugs and pills as well as drop-in nurse consultations offering general health, sexual health and mental health advice.
Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said the pilot is part of the ACT Government’s commitment to reducing the harm caused by drugs through effective evidence-based health interventions.
“The ACT is leading the nation with our progressive approach in treating drug use as a health issue and working with trusted community partners to reduce drug-related harms,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
“This Australian-first program will help people who use drugs to better understand or avoid unknown and potentially dangerous substances in illicit drugs.
“In addition to drug checking, the service will provide harm reduction information, counselling and advice to encourage choices that reduce drug use and associated harms.”
The fixed-site service pilot follows two successful festival-based trials conducted by Pill Testing Australia at the Groovin’ The Moo festivals in 2018 and 2019.
An independent evaluation of the 2019 trial found that drug checking reduced potential drug-related harm, especially for individuals with limited drug-taking experience. The evaluation informed the ACT Government’s Festival Pill Testing Policy released in September 2020.
“We know the safest option is not to take drugs and this will always be our advice to the community. However, we recognise that some people will choose to use drugs and there is a need for initiatives that reduce the harms associated with drug use,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
“This free service aims to reduce the harms associated with drug use and we will be monitoring its progress throughout the trial.”
The ACT Government has provided funding for Associate Professor Anna Olsen from the Australian National University, in partnership with researchers from other universities, to carry out an independent evaluation of the service’s effectiveness.
The evaluation will provide recommendations for service provision improvements if a fixed site health and drug checking service were to be established as an ongoing service.
Located on the ground floor of the City Community Health Centre at 1 Moore St, CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service is free and confidential.
It will be open every Thursday from 10am to 1pm and every Friday from 6pm to 9pm from 21 July.
For more information about the service visit https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/population-health/pill-testing
Quotes attributable to Directions Health Services CEO Bronwyn Hendry:
“Directions Health Services commends the ACT Government for taking a ‘health first’ approach to drug use and supporting a six-month fixed site pill testing pilot in the ACT.
“CanTEST provides an opportunity for a confidential evidence-based discussion about the potential health risks of taking something that commonly turns out to be a cocktail of substances. CanTEST will provide people with harm reduction information and advice, which they may not otherwise access, as well as support for a range of other health issues.
“Just coming into the service demonstrates that people care about their health, and we know from experience that they heed the information provided.”
Quotes attributable to Harm Reduction Australia & Pill Testing Australia President Gino Vumbaca OAM:
“The ACT Government’s establishment of one the world’s few fixed pill testing sites is a remarkable achievement for the people of the ACT.
“The members of Pill Testing Australia have worked very hard for many years to achieve this important public health breakthrough. We also acknowledge that our work is greatly helped by having the widespread support of families and the community, as they understand the tragic harms our service seeks to reduce. No-one wants to see young lives lost and no-one wants to see the gut-wrenching grief that families and loved ones go through when this happens.
“As Australia’s first and only organisation to deliver pill testing services, we hope this will be the start of a national acceptance and roll-out of our services. We encourage all governments to take up our standing offer, as the ACT Government did in 2018, to deliver a festival-based pill testing pilot free of charge to demonstrate the effectiveness of our service.”
Quotes attributable to ANU evaluation leader Associate Professor Anna Olsen:
“Understanding the impact of these types of services is especially important given the recent rise in deaths of young people at music festivals and the detection of high potency synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, in seized heroin and cocaine.
“Our previous work suggests that drug checking services represent a unique setting to engage people who use drugs – in particular, those who may not usually access health-related information about their drug use.
“We will ask participants what they thought of the service, what kind of information was useful to them and whether their behaviours were different after the service, and if so, in what ways they were different.”
- Statement ends -
Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Media Releases