What's in Toronto's drug supply?

Toronto’s Drug Checking Service offers people who use drugs timely and detailed information on the contents of their drugs, helping them to make more informed decisions.

This service also shares information on Toronto’s unregulated drug supply with harm reduction workers and clinicians to help them tailor the care they provide to people who use drugs, while informing advocacy, research, and policy.

Every other week, results from samples checked by Toronto’s Drug Checking Service are combined and presented using the graphs below. Sign up to be notified when new data is available.

Checked samples by sample type

Two types of samples are accepted by this drug checking service: drugs and used equipment. This graph shows how many samples have been checked since the launch of Toronto’s Drug Checking Service – in total and by sample type.

Drugs could be a small amount of powder, crystals, or rocks, a crushed bit of a pill, blotter, or a small amount of liquid.

Used equipment could be a used cooker or filter, or leftover liquid from a syringe.

Checked samples by expected drug

When a sample is submitted to be checked, the drug that a sample was bought or got as is recorded (and is known as the “expected drug”). This graph shows which drugs were expected for samples checked. It can be filtered by sample type and the time period during which a sample was checked.

Other expected drugs since the launch of this service include: 3-MeO-PCE, 3-MeO-PCP, 3-MMC, 4-AcO-DET, 4-AcO-DMT, 4-AcO-MET, 4-FA, 4-HO-MET, 4-HO-MiPT, 4-MPM, 5-APB/6-APB, 5-MeO-DiPT, 5-MEO-DMT, 5-MeO-MiPT, AMT, codeine, DiPT, DMA, DMT, DMXE, DOC, DOM, down, DPT, ETH-LAD, GHB, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, MDA, mescaline, methadone, methylone, MiPLA, morphine, naloxone, O-DSMT, O-PCE, opium, oxycodone (OxyContin), Percocet, and Quaalude.

Unknown includes samples that did not have a recorded expected drug.

Polysubstance includes samples that had two or more expected drugs (e.g., fentanyl and methamphetamine).

Presence of the expected drug

This graph shows whether the expected drug was found in drug samples checked and, if it was, whether it was the only substance found or if it was found with other substances. It can be filtered by the expected drug and the time period during which a drug sample was checked. Note that this graph does not include used equipment samples.

Other substances found

This graph shows the other substances most commonly found in addition to the expected drug in drug samples checked, along with all unexpected noteworthy drugs found. It can be filtered by the expected drug and the time period during which a drug sample was checked. Note that this graph does not include used equipment samples.

! Unexpected noteworthy drug: “Noteworthy drugs” are drugs that (i) are linked to overdose or other adverse effects, (ii) are highly potent or related to highly potent drugs, or (iii) may not be desired by some service users. Noteworthy drugs are flagged when they are unexpectedly found in checked samples.

Amount of substances found

This table shows information related to the amount (i.e., quantity or concentration) of certain substances found in drug samples checked each month. It can be filtered by the expected drug and the substance found. The unit of measurement can be changed from % of the total sample to mg of a standard 10 mg sample. Note: this visualization is updated every other week despite the data being communicated monthly.

Average* amount found: Represents the median amount (i.e., quantity or concentration) of the substance found in the specified # of drug samples.

Quantity-based information is only available for drug samples that are powders or crushed bits of a pill. At this time, fentanyl, fluorofentanyl, heroin, bromazolam, flubromazapam, xylazine, phenacetin, and caffeine are the only drugs quantity-based information is available for.

This graph summarizes trends in noteworthy drugs found in samples checked over time. It can be filtered by sample type, expected drug, noteworthy drug found, and the time period during which a sample was checked. This graph includes samples where the expected drug was not found.

Noteworthy drugs are drugs that (i) are linked to overdose or other adverse effects, (ii) are highly potent or related to highly potent drugs, or (iii) may not be desired by some service users. Noteworthy drugs are flagged when they are unexpectedly found in checked samples.

Benzodiazepine-related drugs could include alprazolam (Xanax), bromazolam, clonazepam, clonazolam, desalkylflurazepam, desalkylgidazepam, deschloroetizolam, diazepam (Valium), etizolam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, flurazepam, meclonazepam, nordiazepam, temazepam.

Fentanyl-related drugs could include 4-fluorobutyrylfentanyl (4-FBF)/4-fluoroisobutyrfentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, benzyl fentanyl, bromofentanyl, butyryl fentanyl, despropionyl carfentanil, despropionyl fentanyl (4-ANPP), fluorofentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl-related, furanylethyl fentanyl, n-methyl norcarfentanil, ortho-fluorofentanyl, valeryl fentanyl.

Nitazene opioids could include 5-aminoisotonitazene, etodesnitazene, etonitazene, etonitazepyne, isotonitazene/protonitazene, metonitazene, n-desethyl isotonitazene.

Opioid-related drugs could include furanyl UF-17 or U-51754.

Synthetic cannabinoid-related drugs could include AB-FUBINACA, ACHMINACA, or AMB-FUBINACA.


Note: While Toronto’s Drug Checking Service checks both drug samples and used drug equipment, most graphs include findings from drug samples only. Equipment, like cookers, is often re-used. The mass spectrometry technologies used for this drug checking service are so sensitive that very trace amounts of drugs may be found. This means that when equipment is re-used, drugs from past use may present in the results for the sample that is being checked. This can interfere with up-to-date drug supply monitoring and, for that reason, used equipment has been excluded from these graphs.