‘Meth’ was just salt but Brisbane pill-testing site finds far riskier drugs

Risky synthetic stimulants have been found in samples people thought were ecstasy and cocaine at Brisbane’s fixed-site drug-checking facility in its first month of operation.

CheQpoint opened on April 19 in inner-city Bowen Hills, making Queensland the first state in Australia to legalise free and confidential checking of illegal drugs.

In its first month, 80 substances were submitted for testing by 37 people.

The results of the first month of Brisbane’s fixed-site pill testing service can be revealed.Credit: Tracey Nearmy/ Getty Images

One of the ecstasy samples tested not only contained MDMA but 4-CMC, a synthetic cathinone or “fake ecstasy”, described by The Loop drug checking service in the UK as up to twice as strong as MDMA.

It also contained methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), a dietary supplement used to relieve joint pain and inflammation.

One of the samples of “cocaine” tested contained no actual cocaine, but instead was dimethylpentylone (DMP), a synthetic cathinone the Australian Federal Police last year warned was similar to amphetamines.

“The risk of serious harm or overdose with dimethylpentylone is very real,” AFP Commander Kate Ferry said in 2022.

Last month, Canberra’s drug-checking service warned cathinones like 4-CMC and DMP carried the risk of heart attacks and neurotoxicity, with signs including a fast heart rate, hallucinations and high blood pressure.

Users reported comedown from many synthetic cathinones could last days or weeks.

CheQpoint, a partnership between QuIHN, QuIVAA and The Loop Australia, is funded by Queensland Health.

MDMA was the most commonly submitted psychoactive drug at the Brisbane site, followed by the benzodiazepine alprazolam, LSD, cocaine and ketamine.

The service also identified “tusi” – a combination of ketamine and MDMA – sold as 2C-B, while one sample thought to be methamphetamine was just epsom salt.

After getting their results, one in five people either handed the substance over for secure destruction, or threw it out at home.

The Loop Australia chief executive officer Cameron Francis said the results proved what the organisation already knew.

“Giving people accurate information about the contents of drugs they intend to consume helps them make better decisions,” he said.

CheQpoint is open on Fridays from 12.30pm to 6pm, and can analyse a sample taken from pills, powders, crystals, liquids and blotters while people wait.

Plants or fungus (cannabis or mushrooms), confectionery (gummies or cookies), or used drug items (baggies or needles) cannot be analysed.

Steroids cannot be analysed on site, but samples can be submitted for analysis as part of a research project in partnership with Griffith University.

Out the samples tested over the first month, 29 were brought in by people to find out if they contained steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.

The first event-based service in Queensland was during the Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival over the Easter weekend, when out of the 210 samples provided for testing by qualified chemists, 14 were discarded.

Victoria will get a pill-testing trial in summer, with Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday saying paramedics had attended more drug overdoses at festivals in the first three months of this year than during all of last year.

The ACT trialled a mobile testing site at a music festival in 2018, and has since operated fixed sites, while the NSW government has no plans to introduce pill testing.

If this story has raised issues about your own or others’ drug and alcohol use, contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.