CheQpoint drug checking service in Burleigh Heads detects phenacetin in cocaine

A drug which was removed from the Australian market in 1983 after it was found it increased the risk of cancer, has been detected in cocaine on the Gold Coast.

A drug removed from the Australian market in 1983 after it was found to increase the risk of cancer has been discovered in cocaine on the Gold Coast.

CheQpoint Drug Checking Service detected phenacetin, a pain-relief and fever-reducing drug, in two samples of cocaine at its Burleigh Heads site on August 1.

It comes only a month after the pill and drug-testing site opened in the beachside suburb in a bid to reduce drug-related deaths on the Gold Coast.

Phenacetin was removed from the Australian market in 1983 after it was found that prolonged exposure of the drug caused severe kidney damage, kidney failure and increased the risk of developing cancer.

A CheQpoint statement said international research suggested it had become common for people to add the painkiller to cocaine.

The statement outlined if the drugs were to be mixed, those taking it were more likely to experience cardiac events including chest pain and hallucinations.

They said the short-term affects of phenacetin could lead to headaches, dizziness, fatigue and fingertips and lips turning blue.

“In very high doses, it can lead to respiratory depression (slow breathing) and death.”

CheQpoint drug checking service detects phenacetin in cocaine on the Gold Coast

Queensland Injectors Health Network chief executive officer Geoffrey Davey said the detection “underscored the necessity of drug-checking services” like CheQpoint.

“By identifying harmful adulterants such as phenacetin, we provide essential information that can help people make safer choices,” he said.

The drug-checking service was a part of a $1 million commitment by the Miles Government to fund confidential drug checking sites over the next two years.

However, both Health Minister Shannon Fentiman and LNP Member for Surfers Paradise, John-Paul Langbroek have both previously emphasised the safest way to approach illicit drugs was to not take them at all.

If you’re concerned about your own or a loved one’s use of alcohol or other drugs, call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015

Queensland’s first fixed-site drug checking (also known as pill testing) service, CheQpoint, has opened its doors in Bowen Hills. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / John Gass

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Originally published as CheQpoint drug checking service in Burleigh Heads detects phenacetin in cocaine