THE ACT Government will launch a fixed-site health and drug checking service on July 21 for a six-month pilot, in an attempt to reduce drug harm in Canberra.

CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service will be located on the ground floor of the City Community Health Centre at 1 Moore Street, and will open every Thursday 10am-1pm and every Friday 6pm-9pm.

The service is free and confidential, and comes following two festival-based trials conducted by Pill Testing Australia at Groovin The Moo in 2018 and 2019.

The service will provide chemicals analysis of drugs and pills in partnership with Pill Testing Australia and Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy.

Testing and consultation will take a minimum of 20 minutes, but may take longer depending on the substance. Substances in the form of pills, capsules, powders, crystals and liquids can be tested.

The sample provided for testing will be destroyed through the testing process, but drugs presented for testing won’t be confiscated.

“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,” said Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith.

“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 site will also offer drop-in nurse consultations offering general health, sexual health and mental health advice.

The ACT Government say they have provided funding to 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 improvements, if a fixed site health and drug checking service were to be established as an ongoing service.

More information here.