Illicit drug testing rising despite patchy availability

New York [US], September 27: More Australians are examining their illicit drugs before consumption amid a wave of opioid-tainted substances.
New reports into Australia's drug habits show about two-in-five users of illicit stimulants had tested the content or purity of their substances in the past year
Almost three quarters of stimulant users or people who inject drugs accessed personal testing kits, with 43 per cent going on to have their substances checked at a formal drug testing service.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, which released the twin reports on Friday, also raised concerns cocaine and methamphetamine were increasingly being mixed with very strong opioids, unbeknownst to users.
"People with little or no tolerance to opioids are being unintentionally and unknowingly exposed and are at higher risk of overdose," said Associate Professor Amy Peacock, the centre's deputy director.
The report comes weeks after Queensland's LNP government outlawed pill testing services and as NSW's Labor government faces pressure to overhaul drug policy after a landmark summit.
"These findings reinforce that people who use drugs want information about their substances and add to a growing body of evidence demonstrating demand for drug checking services in Australia," lead author Rachel Sutherland said.
Researchers found growing awareness and use of naloxone, a life-saving substance available for free at hundreds of pharmacies.
The drug can be used to reverse opioid overdoses from fentanyl, morphine, heroin and other drugs.
About one quarter of stimulant drug users said they obtained the over-the-counter medication at least once, up from one-in-seven a year earlier.
Pill testing has increasingly popped up on the political agenda, with mixed approaches from state and territory governments.
Official checking services have been available in the ACT since 2022, Victoria recently opened the state's first standalone checking service in Melbourne and NSW is trialling pill testing at festivals.
Queensland has shifted the other direction, ramming through laws in September to explicitly outlaw pill-testing sites after two were opened in Brisbane and the Gold Coast by the previous Labor administration.
No services are available in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, South Australia or Western Australia.
About half of Australians over the age of 14 have used drugs illicitly during their life, the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey shows.
About 18 per cent - or 3.9 million people - used in the past year.
That includes an estimated 1.1 million using a pharmaceutical drug for non-medical purposes, one million using cocaine and 2.4 million using cannabis.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation