Rachel Stephen-Smith announces the ACT pill testing site will be extended until August

An evaluation of the centre's first three months has also shown a majority of people whose test showed a substance different than expected chose to not take the drug.

Most people who attended the service had also never previously accessed a healthcare provider about their drug use.

The static pill testing site was opened by the ACT government in July last year and was originally intended to be a six-month pilot.

But Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has announced the service will continue until August 2023.

This is due to a report from the Australian National University, co-authored with researchers from other universities, which found the service had been well received by users and had helped to provide interventions.

The report found a majority of people, 61 per cent, whose test showed a substance different than expected said they "definitely will not" use the drug and only 19 per cent said they "definitely will" take the substance.

READ MORE:

Overall, 22 per cent of people reported they would not take the substance after it had been tested and 18 per cent discarded the drug at the site.

"Early analyses suggest that the service is influencing service users' behaviours in a number of ways, including their discarding their drugs at the service, and a significant proportion stating that they 'definitely will not' use the drug after having received their test results," the report said.

A range of drugs had been brought in for testing, with MDMA the most common followed by ketamine and cocaine. A new drug, dubbed CanKet, was also detected at the pill testing site.

The report found two-thirds of users had never had their drugs tested in Australia before and 62 per cent had never spoken to a health care provider for information about their drug use prior to accessing the service.

Eighty per cent of users also accepted an alcohol and other drug or healthcare intervention.

An average of nine samples were tested a day and most users brought, on average, two samples to be tested during their visits.

The report said a "small number" of parents whose children used drugs accessed the service.

About 12 per cent of the users were not residents of the ACT but the report said this did not suggest a "honeypot" tourism effect as there were Queanbeyan residents who accessed the service.

"It demonstrates the need for this type of service in other parts of the nation," the report said.

Service users were given the option to complete a pre-test and post-test survey and another follow-up survey 15 days after the test. There were 118 people who completed the pre-test survey and 95 completed the post-test survey. Thirty-nine completed the follow-up survey.

The report said the service faced several barriers prior to its opening, including there being a lack of interest from commercial landlords to host the service.

MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:

The fixed-site trial was originally intended to go ahead in the summer of 2020 and 2021 but it proved too difficult to deliver the pilot in a short period.

The service provides a chemical analysis of drugs and pills but people are also able to have consultations with nurses about general health, sexual health and mental health advice.

The service is run by Directions Health Services with help from Pill Testing Australia and the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy.

A final evaluation of the full pilot will be handed down following the completion of the six-month trial.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the interim report had shown the service, dubbed CanTEST, had received strong community support.

"We have seen a great community response to this service. Those using CanTEST have reported positive experiences of having their drugs tested without fear of judgement," she said.

"The service has also contributed to information about the drugs circulating in the Canberra community, which allows health services and the wider community to learn about and respond to dangerous substances earlier."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.