ACT government to work on developing a medically supervised injecting room in four-year plan

There are also plans for the government to develop a service to support young people who have mental health needs co-occurring with drug or alcohol use.

The government will also review legislation around online liquor and sales delivery to see whether the current laws minimise harm and if any further regulation is needed.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has set out the actions as part of a four-year plan, saying it was developed in conjunction with the alcohol and other drugs sector.

"The ACT government has very strong relationships with the alcohol and other drug sector. The ideas and feedback from people with lived experience, advocates, service providers and families has been key in developing this plan," she said.

The action plan has said there would be work towards the establishment of a supervised injecting service but does not specify what this would be.

A report commissioned by the ACT government in 2021 recommended there be a medically supervised injection room in Canberra. This report recommended a room be opened in Civic.

At the time, Ms Stephen-Smith said more scoping work was needed before a decision was made on whether to open a room in the ACT, including community consultation.

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Safe injecting rooms are medically-supervised, hygienic sites that allow a staff member to respond if somebody overdoses.

Rooms are currently run in Sydney and Melbourne.

Labor and the Greens have committed to the pilot of a "safe drug consumption site" in their power-sharing agreement.

A six-month trial is also underway into a fixed-site pill testing service in Canberra's city centre, which is also mentioned in the four-year action plan.

The service has tested hundreds of samples since opening in July.

The service also uncovered a new drug which was dubbed CanKet, short for Canberra ketamine.

The ACT's parliament also passed laws in October to allow people to possess small amounts of certain illicit drugs without facing the prospect of jail time or a criminal record. The laws will come into effect next year.

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