New drug-testing device now in use in Kitchener

A new drug-testing device in Kitchener is giving decision-making power to people who use unregulated drugs.

The machine, now in service at the consumption and treatment site (CTS) on Duke Street, is one of 11 of its kind across the country.

The goal is to limit drug poisonings and help clean up the supply.

“I’ve lost a lot of friends to overdoses and stuff like that,” says Ralph Schmidt, a CTS user and peer worker.

He’s hoping to change that with the help of the new machine.

“They can put their substance in this little square here,” Schmidt explains.

“Then it gets slid in like this, and then it starts scanning.”

Sophisticated technology inside the black cube-shaped device analyzes the composition of street drugs to determine what dangerous fillers and other drugs might be in the sample.

“It makes you think twice about how much you’re going to consume,” Schmidt says.

“And then if there's other stuff in it like a toxic substance, it would probably make you not do it.”

After the test, the sample and analysis is given to the individual, who can then determine if they want to proceed to use the substance.

The device gives a thorough explanation of what’s in the substance in 15 minutes.

A less-specific analysis can be done in 7.5 minutes, and a cursory result can be delivered in 2.5 minutes.

“Some people are in a hurry,” peer drug checker Margo McConnell says. “They want to consume their drugs.”

With each test, the device gets smarter.

“We can send [a sample] away to London, Western [University] – they have a mass spectrometer,” McConnell says. “So, for the unknowns, it will tell us what the unknowns are. That will be uploaded into the machine. So it's constantly learning.”

The most recent data from the Office of the Chief Coroner shows there were 20 confirmed opioid-related deaths in Waterloo Region in the first three months of 2023.

Staff at the CTS hope the new device will slow the pace and are opening its use up to everyone.

“I would like to see dealers come in. I'd like to see the supply cleaned up,” McConnell says.

Since the machine started scanning samples, staff say clients are making more informed decisions.

“People have chosen to lessen their dose,” drug checking program manager Leigh Wardlaw says. “People have chosen to not do it at all.”

For Schmidt, his best decision was joining the program to help his peers.

“For me, I wanted to be part of this because if it helps save one person's life, that's all that matters.”

KITCHENER CTS STATS

According to the Region of Waterloo, there have been 28,696 client visits to the CTS site since it opened in October, 2019.

Last month, 229 people visited the site a cumulative total of 1,114 times. Seventy per cent were men and 30 per cent were women. The most common age range was 30 to 39 years old.

A more detailed breakdown of the data is available here.