Kiwis ingesting ‘dangerous’ drugs as testing reveals many not what people thought they were

Drug users might be unaware of what they’re really ingesting after testing revealed one in five drugs aren’t what people thought they were.

A growth in support for drug checking is helping prevent overdoses as harmful substances continue to be sold as other drugs.

Use of the Drug Foundation substance-checking services has surged with a 51 per cent increase compared to 2022.

The NZ Drug Foundation report showed that nearly one in five drugs tested in 2023 were different to what people thought they had.

The service tested 2602 samples at 98 clinics in 2023.

The NZ Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said that drug-checking services save lives by telling people what’s in their drugs.

“The most dangerous drug is the one someone isn’t expecting.

“The global drug market is becoming more and more volatile. We’re seeing some concerning substances in circulation, so we really encourage everyone to get their drugs checked.”

Helm says that drug-checking providers have identified several dangerous substances sold as other drugs recently, including powerful synthetic opioids called nitazenes, novel benzodiazepines, synthetic cathinones, and even non-psychoactive industrial chemicals like cyclohexanamine.

In America, usage of synthetic opioids is at epidemic levels and as many as 200 Americans a day are dying from overdoses.

Metonitazene is more potent than fentanyl. Photo / Supplied

Last year fake oxycodone tablets that contained the highly potent synthetic opioid metonitazene might have been linked to a death and several serious hospitalisations in New Zealand.

“We don’t just tell people what’s in their drugs. We have a confidential harm reduction conversation with every person who walks through the door about ways to stay safer.

“For some people, it’s the first time they’ve been able to have an honest conversation about their drug use.”

Helm said the growth of the service is down to staff working hard to build trust among a more diverse range of people who use drugs.

“We have an amazing drug-checking team who have worked really hard to build trust by delivering a friendly, confidential and non-judgmental service that helps people to stay safer. The feedback that is highlighted in the report is heartening.”

Key findings from the report:

Out of all samples checked in 2023:

• 64 per cent were what people expected. Some of these drugs contained binder or filler.
• 8.5 per cent contained a completely different drug to what the person expected.
• 6.5 per cent contained the drug the person expected plus one or more other psychoactive or hazardous substances.
• 3 per cent returned inconclusive results.

For the remaining samples, the drug was unknown when it was brought in or the person chose not to disclose it.

Samples that were found to be as expected (or combined with non-psychoactive binder or filler):

• 86 per cent of MDMA
• 71 per cent of cocaine
• 75 per cent of methamphetamine
• 91 per cent of ketamine
• 90 per cent of LSD

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news.