Scale, reach and equity in drug checking: International models
Wednesday 26 August - 9am AWST/11am AEST
Drug checking services allow people to determine the composition of their drugs, reducing harm and providing early warning of contamination in the unregulated drug supply. In Australia, provision of drug checking services remains highly uneven: two fixed-site services operate, in Victoria and the ACT, checking is available at only some festivals, and most states and territories offer none. Access, therefore, depends on geography rather than need and is not equitable.
Other countries do things differently.
In this webinar, after an introduction to this topic from NDRI PhD candidate Cait Dooley, we will hear from two international guests: Bruce Wallace (University of Victoria, Canada) and Nab Dasgupta (University of North Carolina, USA). Bruce will describe Substance Drug Checking’s strategies including a regional, distributed model of drug checking sites, sanctioned courier access to mass spectrometry testing, peer outreach and mail. Then Nab will share examples of innovative and unexpected applications of drug checking technology to answer community questions.
We will then have an open discussion to allow our Australian audience to ask questions about these different models of drug checking delivery, considering how these might be adapted for use locally.
Click here to register
Posted on: 6 Aug 2026
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