Canberra police officers have resigned from the force after testing positive for cocaine and illegal steroid-like substances.
New data has revealed three ACT Policing employees returned positive tests for drugs in the year to July 2020.
Two were sworn police officers and one was an unsworn employee, nabbed as part of the force's mandatory drug testing regime.
All resigned during a subsequent professional standards investigation.
ACT Police Minster Mick Gentleman revealed, through answers to questions on notice, there had been 364 random or targeted testing of ACT police officers or employees of the force in the year to July 2020.
He confirmed during that period, three verified positive results were obtained for ACT Policing employees.
One officer returned a positive result for cocaine and benzoylecgonine while another tested positive for steroid substitute SARMs.
An unsworn employee of the force tested positive for ketamine, MDMA, MDA, cocaine and benzoylecgonine.
Mr Gentleman said the tests determined if the drugs had been consumed within a period of time, but not if the officers were under the influence while at work.
"Depending on the sample taken, the period of time can range from a few days to a few months," he said.
"Also, due to the samples requiring processing in a laboratory, it can take between 2-5 days for the result to be provided to Professional Standards.
"The result is then verified by the AFP medical review officer before a confirmed positive result in known.
"Therefore, if a confirmed positive result is obtained, the exact time of prohibited drug or pharmaceutical consumption, and whether it was during work hours, is not able to be established."
Of the 364 tests completed, 22 were as a result of a professional standards investigation, while the remainder were random tests.
An ACT Policing spokeswoman said all three people who tested positive no longer worked for ACT policing.
"All three former appointees resigned during the professional standards investigation," she said.
She said any Australian Federal Police employee who tested positive to a prohibited substance was then made subject to a serious misconduct investigation undertaken by the Professional Standards Command.
"AFP appointees who receive a verified positive result for their mandatory drug test for prohibited substances are in most cases, suspended without pay and are subject to a category three serious misconduct investigation," the spokeswoman said.
According to the therapeutic goods administration, SARMS are experimental medicines claimed to build muscle mass and bone density.
They are often used as an alternative to steroids and claimed to have fewer side effects.
It is considered a prescription-only drug in Australia, however, there were no registered medicines containing SARMs available for use in the country.
In 2018, ACT Health investigated the reported sale of the sports supplements containing SARMs following complaints to the Health Protection Service.
"The products are being sold locally and primarily through sports supplement stores, which is why this is so concerning and why Canberrans need to be warned," then chief health officer Paul Kelly said.
"These substances are banned for a reason. They pose a significant health risk and for the majority of these substances there is no legitimate medical use."
