Reducing harm by helping people make informed decisions about substance use.
Why Drug Checking?
Drug checking is a tool that informs people who use unregulated substances about what is in their drugs, allowing them to make educated decisions about consumption. This can be a life-saving option.
Guelph CHC’s Drug Checking program is a health care and outreach service for people living in Guelph who are struggling with their substance use and who experience barriers to accessing health services. The program is for clients ages 18 years and older.
This program uses the Scatr Series One drug checking device to detect:
- potentially toxic contents in drug samples, without compromising the integrity of the substance
- potentially toxic contents in drug mixtures.
How does it work?
By analyzing drug samples with laser technology, the device provides instant, real-time reporting on the identity and concentration of a drug. Information about what’s in the sample is available in under 15 minutes. The sample is returned unharmed.
No device is 100% reliable. During every drug checking encounter, we provide education so that clients understand the possibility of inaccurate results. The Scatr device continuously updates to adapt to an increasing sample size and the latest in spectroscopy science.
Note: data collection is a requirement of Health Canada. We anonymously record each drug checking program encounter on the related Data Collection Form.
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