THE Victorian Government has announced the state's first fixed drug checking service on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, set to operate Thursdays to Saturdays from Aug.
The harm reduction measure will provide free, confidential advice, detect dangerous synthetic opioids like fentanyl and nitazenes, and can also be used to check the authenticity of pharmaceuticals purchased online.
It follows successful mobile drug checking at five music festivals over summer, where 11% of the samples were not what the user expected.
"This is about saving lives - no drug is safe, but with testing and open, health-focused conversations, we are helping Victorians make more informed and safer choices," said Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt.
Professor Suzanne Nielsen, Deputy Director at Monash Addiction Research Centre, welcomed the move, and said, "It is fantastic to see Victoria moving toward the same evidence-based harm reduction services that have proven successful internationally.
"With increasing detection of highly potent substances like nitazenes contaminating Australia's drug supply, having permanent facilities not only provides crucial surveillance and early warning capabilities, but also provides the opportunity to engage people in meaningful conversations about risk and safety," she continued.
"International evidence shows fixed sites offer significant advantages over festival-only services by allowing people to plan ahead rather than making decisions in high-risk environments."
Professor Nielsen told Pharmacy Daily that fixed site services in other states have uncovered falsified pharmaceuticals, such as oxycodone or benzodiazepines, that contained strong opioids.
"This would be a big advantage of the new fixed site service that will be opening in Melbourne - if a person had what looks like a pharmaceutical medicine but wasn't sure what it contains, they would be able to have it tested," Professor Nielsen said.
"The increasing numbers of tablets being sold online as pain medicines that don't contain what is expected is really concerning, and unless you are getting a medicine from an Australian pharmacy, it's impossible to know if it really contains what is expected.
"Often with these falsified medicines, the packaging looks very similar to the real thing," she added. KB
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