Pill-testing will be a Schoolies first. Here’s what parents and kids should know

For the first time ever, school-leavers attending this year’s Gold Coast Schoolies event will have access to a free and confidential pill-testing service, with advocates saying the initiative could be life-saving.

The site, located inside the emergency treatment centre on The Esplanade in Surfers Paradise, will run daily between 2pm and 6pm from November 16-22.

The state’s first permanent pill testing site – CheQpoint – opened in April in Bowen Hills. The Labor government announced a Schoolies service in July.

Posters for Brisbane’s first permanent pill testing site CheQpoint spotted in Fortitude Valley. Similar signage will be seen around the Gold Coast.Credit: Courtney Kruk

Though opposed to pill-testing services, the newly elected LNP government sought consultation on the upcoming Schoolies site, with Premier David Crisafulli announcing in early November that the trial would go ahead.

Speaking on the eve of Schoolies celebrations, The Loop Australia chief executive Cameron Francis said the first six months of CheQpoint operations had shown people want to be informed about drug use and potentially harmful substances.

“We know that when we give people the information, they make sensible choices,” he said.

As for what Schoolies using the service can expect, the process takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and is conducted by health professionals and chemists.

In line with CheQpoint’s holistic approach, a private consultation with a health professional to discuss the results is offered, allowing people to better understand the effects of the drugs and any implications on their mental and physical health.

A report charting the findings from the first four months of CheQpoint operations found 23 per cent of visitors said they would use fewer drugs or a lower dose after speaking with service providers, and 16 per cent disposed of drugs.

“Our health workers try to gauge how much information the person needs from us,” Francis said.

“Often we’ll also just ask people if they have any questions or if there’s anything they want to know about drugs.”

Those conversations could be crucial for young people trying drugs for the first time, or navigating the risks of unknown or synthetic substances.

In September, CheQpoint was able to issue an urgent alert after dissociative drug “CanKet” (also known as 2F-NENDCK) was detected in a sample for the first time in Queensland.

The substance, an illegally produced analogue of ketamine, can leave people disassociated and confused and can induce nightmares and hallucinations.

Since the pill-testing site opened, Francis said other dangerous substances detected included counterfeit benzodiazepines (Xanax), a potent and long acting drug that can cause amnesia; ketamine analogues such as CanKet; and Tusi, a mixture of psychoactive substances also known as pink cocaine.

“[These drugs] are often much stronger than what [people] expect and last a lot longer,” Francis said.

The most common drugs expected to circulate this year’s Schoolies are MDMA, ketamine and cocaine. While users should be alert to dangerous synthetics, the current purity of these substances is also of concern.

“The global MDMA purity is really high at the moment, and there’s been a lot of deaths in the UK even in the last couple of weeks,” Francis said.

“The current strength of MDMA is a big concern. A lot of people in Australia don’t really know how to dose it properly...so when high purity substances are available, we tend to see more deaths.”

Approximately 6 to 10 per cent of the population is deficient in CYP2D6, the liver enzyme required to metabolise (break down) MDMA. “Poor metabolizers” are particularly susceptible to pure or high doses of MDMA.

While CheQpoint can’t test for purity, in the absence of any other substances or synthetics, they can advise users on the assumption that their drugs are pure and therefore highly potent – information that could prevent overdose or worse.

Swinburne University psychopharmacology expert Dr Amie Hayley praised the Queensland initiative and opportunity for Schoolies attendees to make more informed choices about their drug use.

“It means that people who might want to take drugs can do so in an informed way and make sure they’re getting the most up-to-date information to keep themselves and their friends safe.”

Opponents to pill-testing services believe there is “no safe way to take drugs”, with some arguing it sends the wrong message about drug use.

“Everyone understands that no drug use is obviously the safest option, but [enforced abstinence] is not a realistic stance to take,” Hayley said.

“People are going to take drugs, so it’s important that we’re doing the most that we possibly can to make sure that people are safe and that people don’t die as a result of the decision that they’re making.

“That’s the main message from health advocates and from the scientific and medical community.”

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