Drug checking pilot program launches at Sydney’s Medically Supervised Injecting Centre

The first drug-checking program of its kind will begin in NSW on Monday, which allows drug users to test their substances.

The first drug checking pilot in NSW will begin operating in an inner-city suburb from Monday, ahead of a highly anticipated Drug Summit promised for later this year.

The program, colloquially known as pill testing, will run one day a week for about four months at the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in Kings Cross, and will take samples from 100 volunteers.

Participants in the pilot must already be registered to use MSIC services, which is run by Uniting NSW. ACT, and provide a small quantity of their pre-obtained drugs for checking.

A small portion of the user's drugs, in this case heroin, are weighed before the testing. Picture: Supplied/ Uniting

The drugs are then submitted for analysis. Picture: Supplied/ Uniting

They will then be given an analysis of their substance, which includes details of the mix of drugs present, the purity of the substance, plus targeted harm reduction advice. 

The samples will also be sent off to the NSW Health Pathology Forensic & Analytical Science Service for further confirmatory testing, and analysis of the drug make up.

No legislation, or government approval was required for the pilot program to commence, as it is a research project, however the program has received Human Research Ethics Committee approval from both the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD).

MSIC’s medical director Marianne Jauncey said the main illicit drugs which come through the centre were methamphetamine, heroin, followed by a “range of other substances”.

She says the study will analyse the interest, feasibility and efficacy of testing, and whether drug checking is able to positively influence people’s behaviour around drug use.

For example, whether the detection of other substances will stop users from taking the drugs.

“It will also improve monitoring of the street drug marketplace so that unexpected or highly dangerous substances may be identified earlier, ideally before people use them,” Dr Jauncey said.

“NSW has justification for concern, with drug markets being increasingly unpredictably post Covid.”

She hopes the program will bolster the argument for drug checking, ahead of a yet-to-be-announced Drug Summit, which NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has promised for later this year.

“The reality is people do use drugs, people do inject drugs and people do die as a result, and so anything we can to reduce the harm has got to be a good thing,” she said.

Currently CanTEST in Canberra is the only government-funded fixed drug testing site in Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

The NSW government has deferred further policy announcements around drug reform until the Drug Summit, however Health Minister Ryan Park has historically said pill testing wasn’t part of the government’s reform agenda, and maintains programs at music festivals was not a “silver bullet” against deaths.

“I don’t think we should have a view … that pill testing is some silver bullet that will protect everybody who goes to (a music festival),” Mr Park told a budget estimates committee in February.

On Monday, Mr Park said the injecting scheme was a “very, very small trial”.

“It’s only 100 tests that they will be using and it’s predominantly for people who have contact with the medically supervised injecting facility at Kings Cross,” the Minister said.

The highly-discussed but delayed ‘drug summit’ has been earmarked for later in the year.

Uniting NSW. ACT’s general manager of advocacy Emma Maiden said she believe NSW had a “narrow view” on education, which creates missed opportunities for “meaningful engagement” around harm reduction.

Ahead of last year’s summer music festival season, Uniting joined a host of other advocacy groups in calling on NSW Premier Chris Minns to implement pill testing measures, however this was rejected.

“NSW was a leader 25 years ago, I think it’s fair to say we’re not a leader anymore,” Ms Maiden said.

“In Australia and around the world, we are seeing governments take different attitudes in drug laws in order to reduce harm.”

Nationally, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is the only jurisdiction which has a fix drug testing facility, however the Queensland government has announced a fixed site in Brisbane’s Bowen Hills area set to launch later this month.