To use or not to use? A new drug-testing machine in Kitchener aims to help with that decision

A new rapid drug-testing machine at the Consumption and Treatment Services site in Kitchener is meant to help people make more informed choices, but could also prove controversial given who is being targeted to use it.

The new machine, added last week as part of a pilot project, is aimed at helping drug-users better understand what is inside their drugs and how safe–or unsafe–they may be to consume.

“It will show exactly what’s in that drug, the potency of say the fentanyl that’s in that drug, [and] people will then decide from there whether they’re going to lower their dose or not use that substance at all,” said Leigh Wardlaw, the drug checking lead at Sanguen Health Centre which operates the Kitchener CTS site.

Speaking on The Mike Farwell Show on Tuesday, Wardlaw said if a significant concern is found, that information could also be passed along to other front-line health workers, emergency services, and public health.

She also said people don’t need to be a client of the CTS site itself in order to use the machine.

“There is no stigma, there is no judgement attached to anybody that visits our site and you absolutely don’t have to use our site, we’re off in a completely separate room [and] it’s completely confidential. We just want everybody to know that we want anybody to come and test their substances.”

That though is where there may be room for controversy with Wardlaw then going on to suggest the machine isn’t only meant for those considering consuming drugs but for those cooking and dealing them as well.

“Sanguen Health Centre is [also] hoping to market to the sellers and distributers of illicit drugs as they may see the benefit in illicit drug quality control,” she said.