The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) is a national drug monitoring system intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets, and form part of Drug Trends.
Drug checking, also known as ‘pill testing’, is a harm reduction method whereby the contents of an illicit substance are objectively assessed to inform behaviour at the point of consumption. The aim of this bulletin is to explore drug checking behaviours, and specifically use of colorimetric reagent tests, among people who use ecstasy and other illicit stimulants in Darwin, NT. Specifically, we aim to describe:
- The proportion of the sample reporting past 12-month engagement in drug checking from 2019-2021, and methods of drug checking.
- Subsequent actions and changes in drug use behaviour following the last occasion of testing using colorimetric reagent kits, in 2019-2021.
- Perceptions of accuracy and the range of capabilities of colorimetric reagent kits, in 2021.