Queensland becomes the first state in Australia to introduce pill testing at music festivals
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Queensland becomes the first state in Australia to introduce pill testing at music festivals in an effort to reduce drug deaths
- Queensland to implement pill testing at festivals
- The state will be the first in the country
- Drugs will be tested for dangerous substances.
Queensland will become the first Australian state to implement pill testing sites in a bid to curb the ill effects of illicit drugs.
The move will bring the country closer to global standards on harm minimization, says an advocate.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said on Saturday Queensland would introduce mobile and fixed site pill testing following successful trials in Canberra.
The service would allow users to chemically test their illicit drugs for the presence of potentially dangerous chemical substances and compounds.
“The pill test is all about harm minimization,” he said in a statement.
The service would allow users attending music festivals to have their illicit drugs chemically tested for the presence of potentially dangerous chemical substances and compounds.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath (pictured) said on Saturday Queensland would introduce mobile and fixed site pill testing following successful trials in Canberra.
“We don’t want people ending up in our emergency departments or, worse yet, losing their lives.
“It is important to note that pill testing services do not promote drug safety, however they are among a set of options that can positively affect outcomes regarding illicit drug use.”
It follows two trials conducted by Pill Testing Australia (PTA) at Canberra’s Groovin’ the Moo festival in 2018 and 2019, and an ongoing trial at a fixed site.
The ACT was the first state or territory to introduce a government-approved fixed pill testing site when it began testing last year.
Victoria and New South Wales have resisted pressure to implement approved testing sites despite multiple forensic inquiries into drug-related festival deaths recommending the move.
PTA clinical leader and emergency medicine physician David Caldicott said there was a certain degree of bravery in Queensland’s decision.
“Any shift toward science and medicine is something to be greatly applauded and appreciated,” he told the AAP.
“There is a certain degree of bravado: opponents (of drug testing) will have anaphylaxis for moving away from the drug policy of the 1950s.”
The move reflected the community’s desire to move from a heavy-handed approach to drugs to medicine-based solutions, he said.
“The evidence has always been there; without it, we couldn’t have started it on the ACT,” said Dr. Caldicott.
‘This is no longer evidence or a medical question. This is almost exclusively an ideological or political decision to be made.
“There is an effort to try to switch to something that is more popular but also the only thing that is supported by evidence.
The Queensland government said it was developing protocols around the operation of the tests and would go to market to identify a provider to test the pill tests at fixed and mobile locations.
“Australia has been a bit of a prominent Luddite on drug policy and this brings Australia in line with global standards.”
The Queensland government said it was developing protocols around the operation of the tests and would go to market to identify a provider to test the pill tests at fixed and mobile locations.
Drug tests would not prevent the police from taking action on the possession, supply and trafficking of illicit drugs.
The introduction of services in Queensland will support a key priority of the government’s new plan to reduce alcohol and drug-related harm and consider additional intervention strategies, it said.