TRANSCRIPT
A petition to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, appealing for the introduction of pill testing as the summer festival season kicks off has fallen flat.
He was in no mood for a lesson on drug safety.
"I know they want me to change our policy today but I'm not going to do that. The truth is there's no safe quantity to take of these illegal substances."
Pointing to the recommendations of the state's Ice Inquiry as well as NSW and Victorian coroners, advocates like Will Tregoning from Unharm, a movement aiming to make drug use legal and safe in Australia, maintain giving users information on WHAT they are taking will save lives.
"Scientific analysis and stigma free advice in drug testing services helps people make better informed decisions about their drug use."
Professor Nadine Ezard from the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs agrees that being uninformed can be potentially disastrous.
"There have been some of the drug alerts in NSW where people thought they were taking cocaine but they were actually taking an opioid with very serious consequences, so those unexpected results will result in a change in people's behaviour.")
Earlier this year, Queensland announced mobile and fixed testing sites following the success of trials in Canberra, but the New South Wales premier thinks it might give users a false sense of security..
"It might be over use, or over consumption of that substance, rather than there being a dangerous element that's been added to the drug."
Emma Maiden from Uniting, the advocacy arm of the Uniting Church, says in the end, it's lives that are important.
" What we would say to the Premier is if one life is saved by introducing drug checking then it will be worth it."
Proponents of testing sites say their use extends well beyond festivals.
In Australia over the past two decades unintentional drug induced deaths have risen by 71 percent, with users largely unaware of exactly what they’re taking.
Professor Ezard says there are no controls.
"Particularly with MDMA sometimes there is no MDMA at all and a lot of other psychoactive substances that may be in there.")
As for those who attend festivals - the idea of testing seems a sensible precaution.
WOMAN: "It's one of those things where people are going to do it anyway if they want to and you may as well make it as safe as possible for them to do so."
WOMAN 2: "I absolutely agrees I think it;s a really good idea."))
MAN: "I think it's important to stay safe if you indulge in that type of stuff"
The New South Wales Opposition is maintaining that it, too, is rejecting pill testing sites.
