Five young people have died from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in Australia since September, reigniting heated debate over whether pill-testing should be trialled at the events.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has welcomed an inquest into those deaths but ruled out introducing a pill-testing trial in NSW, despite mounting pressure from medical experts and some state MPs.

At a meeting on Monday night, City of Sydney councillors unanimously resolved to support proposals for a NSW drug summit, and to liaise with medical professionals who had expressed interest in running a drug-testing demonstration in the area.

Lord mayor Clover Moore said that a new approach was "urgently needed" as she called for a summit that would consider options including "practical and compassionate proposals for drug testing".

"The effectiveness of simplistic 'don’t take drugs' messages has long been questioned – indeed such messages often have the opposite impact when they are delivered by those who lack credibility with their intended recipients, particularly with young people," she said.

Cr Moore said she was the MP for Bligh when she took part in a major NSW drug summit in 1999 that was instigated by then-premier Bob Carr and led to sweeping reforms to the state's drug policies.

She said the new drug summit - which would bring together MPs, government agencies, experts, community representatives and people affected by drug use - should examine "all possible ideas".

"Given the current public debate, it must consider illicit drug testing calmly and rationally, by examining the findings and evidence from existing programs, hearing from the experts and addressing the issues around proceeding with an effective drug-testing trial in NSW."

Cr Moore said she had been approached by a group of medical professionals who wanted to use a council-owned building to demonstrate how such drug testing could be carried out.

She said the proposed demonstration would not involve illicit drugs and could "help dispel misconceptions and misunderstanding about drug testing".

"This would help ensure that the ongoing public discussion about drug testing and other approaches to minimising harm from drugs is better informed," she said. "If we fail to consider new initiatives, including illicit drug testing, we risk more young lives being lost."

Councillor Kerryn Phelps, who is also a general practitioner and federal MP for Wentworth, said she "strongly supports" both moves. "It is time. It has been 20 years since the last drug summit and a lot has changed."

Dr Phelps said a pill-testing trial "dry-run" could help dispel misunderstandings from "people who are worried about what's going on in that tent, who think it's something strange and spooky".

Liberal councillor Craig Chung urged bipartisanship on the issue: "I think a demonstration would give people proper information about what's available to them with pill-testing," he said.

"If they decide not to support it, that's well and good, but at least they're informed."

In response to questions from Liberal councillor Christine Forster about what the demonstration would look like, Cr Moore said the aim was for the state government "to take this on board and look at the best way for it to be done".

Ms Berejiklian has argued there is no evidence pill-testing saves lives, while Opposition Leader Michael Daley has said it should not be discounted and committed to a drug summit if Labor wins.