00:00At Bowen Hills in inner-city Brisbane, a landmark health service has opened its doors.
00:09It allows people who take drugs to find out exactly what's in them.
00:14There's a lot of evidence that the drug market is becoming more and more risky.
00:17We're seeing a lot more contaminants turning up in sort of unexpected places.
00:22Patrons bring in a sample of a pill, powder or liquid for testing by a chemist.
00:27Only a tiny amount is needed, about the size of a match head.
00:31During testing, a health care worker chats to the client about any health concerns they have.
00:37We all want our families and loved ones to come home to us at the end of the day or night.
00:42And through this service we can work with individuals to educate, empower.
00:46If something alarming is found in the substance, not only is the individual told, a wider alert
00:52can be made to warn others.
00:55If we were to get something that was really high risk, then we can get an alert published
01:00on social media channels probably initially within two hours of us identifying that.
01:05Australia's first permanent drug checking site in Canberra tested more than 1,200 samples
01:10in just over a year of operation.
01:13About half the specimens contained unexpected substances, showing dealers often dilute what
01:19they're selling.
01:21We'll continue to crack down on those trafficking drugs and particularly the organised crime
01:27behind that.
01:28But this is all about taking care of Queenslanders and keeping them safe.
01:32The service has the support of Queensland Police.
01:35Under an agreement, officers are not to conduct unnecessary drug checks on people at this site.
01:42It'll be open on Friday afternoons.
01:44A second Queensland testing site will be set up elsewhere in the coming months.
01:50For more information, visit www.qld.gov.au
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