Australians have been shocked and saddened by the tragic drug deaths at music festivals in recent months but the question remains whether pill testing would have saved these and other young lives?
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According to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, even a death during the pill testing trial in Canberra would not stop further pill testing. The ACT Government is seemingly not concerned with the evidence arising from last year’s pill testing trial at Groovin the Moo, or from independent leading experts. It has already made up its mind.
People who are thinking of testing their pills should also be aware that they will be required to sign a waiver that explicitly states that pill testing does not provide evidence of purity, evidence of safety, evidence of dose or information about how an individual will respond.
So why was the pill testing trial conducted last year declared by some as a success?
Thousands attended the festival but only 83 tests were conducted. Of that group, 94 per cent of those who discovered they had high purity MDMA said they would keep (and presumably take) those drugs. Three per cent were unsure. Only 3 per cent said they would not take it. This is what advocates call a ‘success’.
Many experts are expressing caution. Toxicologist Andrew Leibie said statements that pill testing would help ‘keep people safe’ were potentially misleading and that pill testing “is based on the false assumption that if you do know what you're taking, it is safe – something that is absolutely untrue. MDMA is not a safe drug.”
The State Health Commander of Ambulance Victoria said, “It's a poison. You can test a poison all you like, it remains a poison.”
Toxicologist Dr John Lewis doubted its effectiveness in detecting other dangerous chemicals, saying: “It won’t work and is fraught with dangers.” The Internal Medicine Journal said in November 2016: “Pill testing at best gave an artificial ‘shine of safety’.” It is this ‘artificial shine of safety’ that can be so dangerous.
Government sanctioned pill testing sends a dangerous message that tested pills are safe. This was shown in a recent ABC survey of a music festival in Bendigo following the Canberra pill testing trial, when a young festival goer said: "The fact they can test it and make sure that they are going to be safe is definitely a good thing.” Another said: "It could make you want to take more drugs. It would definitely give you peace of mind.”
Opposition to pill testing in Australia is widespread and bi-partisan for good reason.
A recent report into drug law reform from a parliamentary inquiry in Victoria warned that “a key concern of the committee regarding drug checking is that it may lead to a perception among individuals who use drugs that, once the substances are tested, they are safe to consume …”
The report also found that “drug-checking services might be misused by drug suppliers, by using information provided by drug-checking services to promote 'the safety' of their product.”
Based on the evidence, pill testing can create the false belief that drugs are safe.
That can cause more people to take drugs, and more young people may die. Declarations that even a death during pill testing will not prevent more trials shows that the warnings and evidence are being ignored and the ACT Government will promote pill testing regardless of the consequences.
Jeremy Hanson is the shadow Attorney General in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
