UBC lab develops new, portable drug-checking device ahead of limited decriminalization | 24CA News

A lab on the University of British Columbia is engaged on new drug-checking expertise, together with a tool they are saying can establish decrease concentrations of drug elements.

Sara Guzman, a graduate scholar working at UBC’s Hein Lab, helps take a look at a brand new, transportable model of high-performance liquid chromatography devices, or HPLCs, which she says can establish drug concentrations beneath 5 per cent.

“We are hoping to lower the barriers associated with this high-quality analytical technology and translate it into drug-checking,” she mentioned. 

“It will increase sensitivity but also effectiveness and reduce human error.”

The expertise comes as B.C. is about to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of unlawful medication by the top of the month.

Drug-checking helps individuals perceive what’s of their medication to allow them to make knowledgeable choices.

The free, confidential service is finished with the assistance of assorted applied sciences, and is often supplied in locations corresponding to protected consumption websites and music festivals.

The predominant expertise getting used to examine medication is an FT-IR spectroscopy, whose predominant limitation is being unable to correctly detect concentrations beneath 5 per cent — which is commonly the case for opioids, Guzman says.

“Even an extremely small concentration of something like fentanyl can be lethal depending on one’s tolerance,” she mentioned.

She provides that whereas the technician working the gadget could make tough estimates, this may be subjective and result in the fallacious evaluation.

The Hein Lab says it plans to finally distribute the transportable HPLCs totally free to drug-checking websites and distributors working with clinics.

It goals to have the gadget prepared to be used by the top of April this 12 months.

Decriminalization is just not protected provide: specialists

As of Jan. 31, individuals age 18 and older will have the ability to possess as much as a cumulative 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA throughout the province.

While hurt discount specialists say it’s too early to know the complete impacts of the coverage, decriminalization doesn’t imply there will probably be a protected provide of medication.

Drug-checking is one kind of harm-reduction service supplied by regional well being authorities, non-profits, and community-based organizations to attempt to curb the deadly penalties of poisonous medication.

Jennifer Matthews, a drug-checking implementation lead on the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, informed CBC that utilizing a big selection of drug-checking applied sciences — together with units just like the HPLC, FT-IR and take a look at strips — is the very best strategy.

“The goal really is to try and pair technologies because every … strategy has its own limitations,” she mentioned.

“What we want to do is maximize the benefit of all of those to try and get the most complete picture that we can.”

Jeremy Kalicum, co-founder of the Drug User Liberation Front, says the brand new expertise is a vital step in addressing the poisonous disaster. 

“A lot of these things [drug-checking technologies] have been put in place to respond to the overdose crisis when really they are just good practices in harm reduction,” he mentioned. 

There is hope nevertheless that decriminalization will destigmatize the drug-checking course of for individuals who do not get their medication checked out of worry of felony prices.

“Ultimately, what you want to make sure is that people feel comfortable in accessing whatever that service,” mentioned Kalicum. 

“You aren’t really able to overcome that without addressing the underlying systemic things.”