Who supports drug-checking services in Australia? An analysis of 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey data.

Abstract

Drug-checking services can minimise the potential harms from drug use and have received increased attention in recent policy debates in Australia. In this brief report, we aim to better understand the prevalence of support for drug-checking services among individuals of certain demographic groups, social status and social attitudes towards drug and alcohol policy. This report uses data from the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, a national population study of alcohol and other drug use conducted triennially in Australia. We examined support for drug-checking services descriptively, alongside associations between demographic, social and substance use variables and support of drug-checking using Generalised Linear Model analyses with a Poisson distribution and log link. Overall, 56% of the sample supported policies related to drug-checking services. Support was highest among those aged 25-34 years (62%), most socioeconomically advantaged (66%), with an income over $104,000 (64%), with a bachelor's degree or higher (65%), living in major cities (58%), recent consumers of commonly tested drugs (88%) and other drugs (77%),and risky drinkers (64%). In the multivariable model, those who were younger, women and had the highest level of education were more likely to support the policy compared to those who were aged 55+ years, men and had lower levels of education. This report highlights that, while there were different degrees of support based on demographic characteristics, substance use status and social attitudes towards drug and alcohol policy, the overall majority of the sample supported the provision of drug-checking services.