Drug testing machines can identify toxins in minutes, but Belleville doesn't have one

All it takes is about five minutes and a sample "smaller than a chocolate chip" for harm reduction staff in Ottawa to know what's in the drugs someone is considering using at a supervised consumption site.

By comparison, public health officials in Belleville, Ont., a city still reeling from a recent overdose emergency, said they're not aware of any drug testing machines in Hastings and Prince Edward counties.

Instead, they have to send substances away to get them analyzed.

Testing conducted by Health Canada after the most recent drug poisonings revealed the presence of xylazine, a potent animal tranquilizer, but the results weren't provided until last Thursday, more than a week after emergency officials said 13 people overdosed within a matter of hours on Feb. 6.

Being able to know what's in the local drug supply sooner would "definitely prepare us," said J.J. Cormier, executive director of the local John Howard Society, which runs a drop-in service downtown.

Having detailed information about what substances are around would help warn people who use drugs and inform emergency and health-care services about what to expect. That includes whether naloxone, a medication used to reverse the effects of overdoses, will work, Cormier explained.

Staff at Sandy Hill Community Health Centre in Ottawa use a drug testing machine daily to get results in a matter of minutes.

There's no appointment necessary to try the tool. Members of the public can simply walk in between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and ask to have a sample tested.

Wendy Stewart, director of Sandy Hill's harm reduction program, said the machine provides people with real-time information so they can decide whether to "continue their use, decrease what they're using or walk away altogether."

A potent tranquilizer is showing up in Ottawa’s drug supply. Here’s how this clinic can test for it

1 year ago

Duration 2:25

Supervised injection sites in Ottawa like the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre are sounding the alarm after finding traces of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, in the local drug supply. Derrick St John, program manager of the centre’s Oasis program, demonstrates how drugs can be tested in just a few minutes.

Using very small samples — "anywhere from one to 20 milligrams of the drug, so literally smaller than a chocolate chip,"  according to Derrick St John, a nurse who oversees the supervised consumption site and other harm reduction services — the machine can identify what's in the drugs as long as those substances are in its database.

The machine is part of a research study and would typically cost around $130,000, according to St John. Other testing technology goes for about $40,000 per unit, but in some cases there's a cost per test, he explained.

Two testing machines are currently available in Ottawa, with plans to add two more in the near future.

Supervised consumption site also on 'wish list'

A statement from the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH), which covers Belleville and the surrounding area, said to its knowledge there are no drug testing machines in the region.

The email pointed out the technology tends to go hand-in-hand with a supervised consumption site — another resource the community lacks.

HPEPH said that would require public support and an application for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs & Substances Act, however the health unit "would be in support of drug testing" as part of such a site.

Health officials and staff at Sandy Hill in Ottawa stressed that both testing drugs and running a supervised consumption site require expertise, proper staffing and other supports to be truly successful.

Cormier, who runs the Belleville drop-in service, said a site that provides those services is on her "wish list" for a community hub officials are asking the province to help fund.

She said testing has been discussed locally, including with some of the people she serves on a daily basis.

In one conversation days after the surge in overdoses, Cormier said one man told her even if testing showed drugs were tainted he would likely still use them, only with one important difference — he would use less.