Pressure has been mounting on the government to allow harm minimisation groups to help people test their illicit drugs for dangerous substances.

ACT Young Labor member Briony Roelands put forward a general resolution to change the party's health platform to accept pill testing as a strategy to reduce drug harm.

The conference resolved that a trial should be developed and run this year, ideally at the November 25 festival.

"Quite simply, drug policy in the ACT is failing young people. Drug policy must be focused on harm minimisation and evidence not draconian and outdated practices which put users at risk," Ms Roelands said.

"Festivalgoers have and will continue to become gravely ill or possibly die from botched pills.

"Secondly the practice of sniffer dogs surveying festivalgoers leads to many consuming all of their pills at once, overdosing in fear of inspection.

"Thirdly, data from this Austrian trial showed that two thirds of people discarded their pill if the machine detected a particular [substance] with 50 per cent reconsidering their need to ever take drugs again. There's too much riding on drug policy to bungle it."

ACT Labor politicians have resisted calls in the past to endorse a pill testing trial, in spite of pressure from health advocates and the Greens.

Greens minister Shane Rattenbury launched a petition in March to lobby his cabinet colleagues for a trial.

In April, the government set up a working group to look at the health and legal implications of pill testing. Police officers and health officials are involved in the group.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said at the time his government was not opposed to pill testing but had "a range of questions and concerns".

He also made clear the government would never "stamp your pill and say it's safe".

"I need to be clear, the government is never going to endorse the taking of illegal drugs but we also have responsibilities around harm minimisation," Mr Barr said.

Of the motion, a spokesman for Mr Barr on Saturday said: "It's great to see ACT ALP members are engaged with the issue of pill testing. The ACT government has already publicly stated we are looking into pill testing from a harm minimisation perspective."