The ACT Government's decision to permit a pill testing trial to go ahead at next month's Spilt Milk Festival, while controversial, is justified, readily defensible and long overdue.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The November trial, a first for Australia, marks a welcome shift towards a harm minimisation approach.
If only one life is saved it will have been very worthwhile. It will be even better if a successful trial paves the way for the introduction of such testing at music events across the country, should that trial prove effective.
The Canberra trial, to be conducted by qualified personnel using state of the art equipment, offers a unique opportunity for medical staff to educate attendees about the risks of drug taking while they are having their pills tested.
This could even extend to suggesting individuals review their decision to take an illicit drug whether or not it tests safe.
Data from New Zealand indicates 60 per cent of people who do have their drugs tested decide not to take them.
Given the pill testing trial issue has been on the boil in Canberra for well over a year nobody can accuse the Barr Government of acting in haste.
12 months ago ACT Labor was drawing fire from groups and individuals disappointed by its decision not to support a proposal by the ACT Greens for such a trial at the 2016 Spilt Milk Festival.
The Barr Government subsequently rejected a call by Harm Reduction Australia for a pill testing trial at the Groovin' the Moo festival in May this year.
"The government came to the conclusion the proposal would need a significant amount of work," a spokesman said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr, while not unsympathetic, said a range of complex legal and health issues had to be worked through before any trial could proceed.
That was done in a timely fashion, allowing the Spilt Milk trial to be announced late last month.
Opposition has come from two fronts. The first was from conservatives who argue that as drug use is illegal pill testing should not be offered. It runs the risk of "legitimising" risky behaviour.
The second is from recognised experts who argue there are limits to what pill testing can achieve, that it is not a "magic bullet" and that substances that cannot be identified will be found.
Pill testing advocates, such as Canberra-based emergency medicine specialist, David Caldicott, say this is a moot point. If the tests throw up an unknown drug the consumer would be advised "in the strongest possible terms" not to take the pill.
By opening the door to the possibility of a national testing regime that will indicate if a drug is potentially lethal before it is consumed the ACT Government has done much to drag Australia's drug risk management policies into the 21st century.
