Mysterious new ketamine-like drug CanKet found at CanTEST sparks call for WA fixed-site pill testing service

The discovery of a mysterious new recreational drug in Australia unknown to major drugs agencies has promoted fresh calls for pill-testing services to be made available in WA.

Drug users have been urged to exercise extreme caution after scientists detected a ketamine-like substance unlike anything they had ever seen before, and one that has yet to be “toxicologically described” elsewhere in the world.

The concerning discovery was made by experts from The Australian National University as part of their work with Australia’s first fixed pill testing site CanTEST located in Canberra.

It’s out there

“Someone presented a small plastic bag of crystals and powder to the testing service,” Professor Malcolm McLeod said.

“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.

“But when we tested the substance it was clear it wasn’t ketamine, but rather a ketamine-like substance. That’s why we have called it CanKet — as in Canberra ketamine.

“While we have a clear readout of the chemical structure of the drug, we’re still not quite sure of what its effects are.

“Our initial reaction was ‘whoa, this is really weird’. We have no idea who made the drug and where it came from. But we now know it’s out there.”

While the drug shares similar chemical qualities to ketamine, it has a unique makeup previously unseen in Australia.

Ketamine is typically snorted or injected but can also be taken orally. It provides a powerful high for about an hour and is related to anaesthetics, including horse tranquilisers. Common side effects include nightmares, hallucinations, high blood pressure and confusion. In recreational use, it is also associated with a phenomenon known as the “k-hole” — a state of dissociation akin to an out-of-body experience.

Emergency department consultant and clinical drug expert Associate Professor David Caldicott said CatKet’s discovery was particularly “disconcerting” given even reputable agencies such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction had no data on the substance.

“This is something quite new, which has never been reported, anywhere, by a drug checking service,” he said.

“While it would be fair to say we understand ketamine very well as a drug, we literally have no other data as to what the acute or chronic effects of this close cousin might be. And that is disconcerting.

“Assuming that it is ‘safe’ because it appears related to ketamine would be an error of judgement. “This is why services like CanTEST are so invaluable. It allows us to identify never-before-seen drugs. This can potentially save lives.”

Concern around CanKet has sparked fresh calls for the expansion of fixed-site pill-testing clinics to other parts of Australia — including WA.

Established in July 2022 as part of a six-month pilot trial, CanTEST is the country’s only fixed drug testing facility in Australia.

The ACT Health initiative was launched after an analysis at a similar pop-up trial at Canberra’s Groovin’ The Moo festival in 2018 and 2019 found substances contained the potentially deadly MDMA substitute, n-ethylpentylone.

Professor Caldicott said the stigma surrounding pill testing had put ministers off establishing sites in their States and Territories.

“The evidence is home and hosed. Two independent inquiries have provided expertise in NSW and have recommended pill testing in NSW,” he said.

“The opposition to it at the moment is exclusively political, so I would say it’s up to our political colleagues to explain why they are right when the experts are wrong.

“We have a standing offer to WA to provide a pill testing service, but the last time we visited the idea in WA we were told pill testing sends the wrong message.

“But the real message pill testing sends is that ‘we think that your life is worth looking out for and we want to keep you safe’.

“It also acknowledges the idea that a drug-free Australia is magical thinking and we need to focus on keeping young people alive while they go through that phase of life.

“The vast majority of young people who have dabbled in drugs when young don’t end up using drugs for the rest of their lives.”

WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson was contacted for comment on the prospect of pill-testing sites in WA.

A spokesperson commented that: “The McGowan government has no plans to introduce pill testing in Western Australia at this time.

“However we continue to monitor emerging pill-testing research, including the outcomes of the ACT’s pill-testing pilot.”

The CatTEST pilot program will conclude at the end of 2022.

In the meantime, Professor Caldicott has urged recreational drug users not to be “guinea pigs” and to exercise extreme caution before taking a new drug.

“It’s clear from our testing often what you’re being sold is something other than what it is. The discovery of CanKet is another level of concern entirely,” he said.

The scientists’ investigations into CanKet continue.