New Drug "CanKet" Discovered Through Australia's First Pill Testing Site

A new drug has been discovered through Australia’s first fixed pill testing site in Canberra.

The new drug has been named “CanKet” as it is believed to have similar compounds to that of Ketamine and was discovered in the Canberra based pill testing clinic CanTEST.

ANU Professor Malcom McLeod told the ABC that the bag was handed in to the testing clinic by someone who claimed the drug had a different effect to that of ketamine.

"They told us that they thought it was ketamine but that the effects of the drug were very different to what they expected, so they wanted us to test it,” he said.

"But when we tested the substance it was clear it wasn't ketamine, but rather a ketamine-like substance."

- Professor Malcom McLeod

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The clinic, which is a combined initiative between Directions Health Services, Canberra Alliance, Pill Testing Australia and ACT Health with the aim to minimise the harm caused by illicit substances, has so far tested more than 150 samples over a two-month period with at least 34 people choosing to throw the drugs away after discovering the exact contents of the sample.

This month alone, the clinic has released two public service announcements revealing that dangerous substances were discovered in what the users believed was MDMA and ketamine.

Scientists are still unsure as to the exact effects of the “CanKet” but believe there is more in circulation.

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