Different technology used by Sudbury group to improve testing of illicit drugs

A Sudbury group offering testing of illicit drugs says it needs to make changes to obtain better test results.

Earlier this year, the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth started offering free drug testing in an attempt to curb overdoses and deaths in the community.

Julie Gorman, the executive director of the centre, says the testing is being done by using reagents or chemical reactions.

"By using different reagents, we're able to try and track what exactly is in the substance that's coming from the streets," she said.

"Unfortunately, we're finding that reagents work specifically with a singular substance and they aren't as clear when you have a compound or a mixture of substances."

As a result, Gorman says they can't always get a clear picture of what's in the drugs when testing is done.

"I don't want to give somebody a subjective result," she said.

"What we're trying to do is give them answers to what's in there and if I'm giving them a subjective result that can pose errors and problems."

Gorman says they're also finding a lot of little-known drugs that are coming off the black market from research facilities.

"These are chemicals that are still at the earliest stages of research," she said.

"They don't even have a name. It's usually a letter followed by a couple of numbers. They're available online unfortunately a lot of times."

Gorman says the group has been looking into mass spectrometry, which is a more precise way of testing. The drugs would be placed in a machine which would list exactly what's in it.

Offering help

She says it's important for people who use street drugs to know exactly what they're taking.

"If you're using, you're gauging your dosage based on what you assume your substance is," she said.

Gorman acknowledges critics in the community who suggest her group should focus on getting people to stop taking drugs.

"I think that going up to anybody and telling them right away 'You need to stop,' is going to create a barrier rather than open up a window to offer them help," she said.

Gorman says not all the testing will need to be changed, as she says the test to detect fentanyl and carfentanil worked "perfectly."