The first pill test trial in NSW set for March but police warn punters may face drug dogs and strip searches

The Minns government has revealed the festival to host the first pill testing service to be conducted by NSW Health.

The Yours and Owls festival in March will be the first music event to introduce pill testing in NSW, but police have warned patrons may face drug dogs and strip searches before they reach the health staff conducting the trial.

The Minns government agreed to trial pill testing following recommendations made at the NSW Drug Summit in December.

Following pill testing services offered at festivals in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, the free service at the Wollongong festival on March 1 and 2 which will feature performances by the pop queens Veronicas and American rap superstar Denzel Curry.

It will be the first to be conducted by a government agency rather than independent medical services.

The Veronicas will perform at Yours and Owls festival where NSW’s first pill testing trial will be held. Picture: Richard Dobson

While there will be an “amnesty” area surrounding, and within, the medical tent where patrons can have their drugs examined, NSW police have confirmed officers “will be on-site undertaking activities that may involve drug dog and strip search operations.”

Health minister Ryan Park said while the trial was a harm minimisation measure in the wake of overdose deaths at festivals, illicit drug use remains illegal.

“Let me be clear, no level of illicit drug use is safe and pill testing services do not provide a guarantee of safety,” Park said.

“There will always be risks involved when consuming these substances. However, this trial has been designed to provide people with the necessary information to make more informed decisions about drug use, with the goal of reducing drug-related harm and saving lives.”

DJ and remixer Cyril will perform at Your and Owls. Picture: Supplied.

The testing service “will not be made available to suppliers and police will continue to target them.”

Patrons will be invited to have substances analysed to test for purity, potency and adulterants. They will then move to a discussion with a qualified counsellor.

The entry and exit to the medical tent will be the same one used for anyone needing treatment at the event to preserve the punter’s anonymity.

Yours and Owls co-founder Bill Tillman, who has been operating his music event in Wollongong for more than a decade, said pill testing was a harm-reduction measure they had been fighting for over several years.

Pill testing trial facilities at Beyond The Valley. Picture: Alison Wynd

This year’s festival features an eclectic line-up including Fontaines DC, Goo Goo Dolls, Cyril, Brad Cox and Peach PRC.

“While Yours and Owls maintains a zero-tolerance policy to illegal drugs, we are realists and see the abstinence-only approach as unhelpful. Pill testing is not a panacea,” Tillman said. “However, it is a proven harm minimisation strategy that has been successfully implemented in many countries overseas for the past twenty or so years.”

The Victorian government authorised its first pill testing trial at the Beyond The Valley festival over the New Year’s period.

Untitled Group head Pete Sofo at the pill testing trial facilities at Beyond The Valley. Picture: Alison Wynd

Healthcare staff counselled more than 700 festivalgoers, mainly aged in their late teens and early 20s, and tested more than 600 samples.

MDMA, ketamine and cocaine were the most frequently tested drugs.

It was reported only one punter was taken to hospital for treatment after suffering a drug overdose and almost 40 per cent of Beyond the Valley fans said they would use a lower dose of their drugs after having a conversation with health professionals testing their substances.

Pill testing will now be held at three upcoming Melbourne festivals including Pitch, Ultra and the Warehouse Project.

Originally published as The first pill test trial in NSW set for March but police warn punters may face drug dogs and strip searches