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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Miriam Webber

139 drug samples tested in fourth month of ACT pill testing

The CanTest Health and Drug Checking Service. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong

The territory's pill testing clinic checked 139 drug samples in its fourth month running, leading to 13 samples being voluntarily discarded.

Cocaine was detected in 11 samples, ranging in purity from less than five per cent to 43 per cent.

One sample of heroin was found to have 58 per cent purity, while ketamine was expected in 23 samples but only detected in 14.

Purities of ketamine ranged from 31 to 70 per cent.

MDMA was expected in 43 samples and detected in 34, while methamphetamine was expected and found in two samples.

The fixed pill testing site in Canberra's city centre is the only one in Australia, and is being trialled for six months.

By the end of November, the Moore Street facility had processed 371 samples.

The service is confidential and people do not need proof of identity to access the service.

The clinic opened for extended hours in the lead-up to Spilt Milk music festival in November, and those results will be reported next month.

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