Pill testing or drug checking in Australia: Acceptability of service design features.
Monica J Barratt, Raimondo Bruno, Nadine Ezard, Alison Ritter
Drug and Alcohol Review February 2018 DOI: 10.1111/dar.12576 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional web survey Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 851 |
| Population | Australians reporting use of psychostimulants and/or hallucinogens and attendance at licensed venues past midnight and/or festivals in the past year (70% male; median age 23 years) |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Designer drugs Drug users Hallucinogens Harm reduction |
| Key findings | Festival- or club-based drug-checking services with low wait times and low cost appear broadly attractive to this sample under conditions of legal amnesty and individualised feedback. Willingness to donate a whole dose for quantitative testing was reported by a minority (33%), which the authors suggest may reflect the higher cost of ecstasy pills in Australia. |
Abstract
This study aimed to determine design features of a drug-checking service that would be feasible, attractive and likely to be used by Australian festival and nightlife attendees. Web survey of 851 Australians reporting use of psychostimulants and/or hallucinogens and attendance at licensed venues past midnight and/or festivals in the past year (70% male; median age 23 years). A drug-checking service located at festivals or clubs would be used by 94%; a fixed-site service external to such events by 85%. Most (80%) were willing to wait an hour for their result. Almost all (94%) would not use a service if there was a possibility of arrest, and a majority (64%) would not use a service that did not provide individual feedback of results. Drug-checking results were only slightly more attractive if they provided comprehensive quantitative results compared with qualitative results of key ingredients. Most (93%) were willing to pay up to $5, and 68% up to $10, per test. One-third (33%) reported willingness to donate a whole dose for testing: they were more likely to be male, younger, less experienced, use drugs more frequently and attend venues/festivals less frequently. In this sample, festival- or club-based drug-checking services with low wait times and low cost appear broadly attractive under conditions of legal amnesty and individualised feedback. Quantitative analysis of ecstasy pills requiring surrender of a whole pill may appeal to a minority in Australia where pills are more expensive than elsewhere. [Barratt MJ, Bruno R, Ezard N, Ritter A. Pill testing or drug checking in Australia: Acceptability of service design features. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000].
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug Recreational Ecstasy users recruited via snowball peer network | 1992 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 100 |
| Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls | 1999 | Cross-sectional association study | n = 20 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Patterns of recreational drug use at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland Drug users at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, aged 16-47, 80% between 18 and... | 2001 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 122 |
| Acute, sub‐acute and long‐term subjective consequences of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) consumption in 430 regular users Regular MDMA users | 2003 | Cross-sectional study | n = 466 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 16
- Microdosing psychedelics: Subjective benefits and challenges, substance testing behavior, and the relevance of intention Journal of Psychopharmacology October 8, 2020
- Deaths related to MDMA (ecstasy/molly): Prevalence, root causes, and harm reduction interventions Journal of Substance Use February 20, 2018
- Global Drug Survey April 12, 2020
- First drug-checking study at an electronic festival and fentanyl detection in the central region of Mexico Harm Reduction Journal December 10, 2023
- Comparison of strength and adulteration between illicit drugs obtained from cryptomarkets versus off-line. Addiction 2025
and 11 more in the library
Cites 6
- Harm Reduction or Psychedelic Support? Caring for Drug-Related Crises at Transformational Festivals Dancecult 2015
- Drug testing in Europe: monitoring results of the Trans European Drug Information (TEDI) project. Drug Testing and Analysis February 2017
- Crystals and tablets in the Spanish ecstasy market 2000-2014: Are they the same or different in terms of purity and adulteration? Forensic Science International June 2016
- The Drug Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) in the Netherlands: implementation, results, and international comparison. Drug Testing and Analysis September 2011
- Variability in the 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine content of 'ecstasy' tablets in the UK. Emergency Medicine Journal August 19, 2010
and 1 more in the library