MDMA, cocaine found as schoolies visit pill-testing tent

The results are in for what is likely to be the first and last Schoolies pill testing service, as old social media posts about the controversial scheme come back to haunt the new Youth Minister.

Pill-testing at Schoolies has been hailed a success.

The results for what is likely to be the first and last Schoolies pill testing service are in, as old social media posts about the controversial scheme come back to haunt new Youth Minister Sam O’Connor.

Schoolies first pill testing service has been hailed a success by organisers, with data collated on Thursday evening showing close to 1000 young people sought out the facility, and 50 partygoers presented 24 substances for testing.

According to organisers The Loop Australia 50 per cent of the Schoolies they saw claimed they would reduce their drug use and 10 per cent threw away their pills.

“The drugs detected were as expected,” The Loop CEO Cameron Francis said.

“The most were MDMA and we had cocaine samples. There is always the fear of overdose with cocaine but the visitors were very receptive to our advice and one in ten opted to get rid of their drugs.”

The Loop Australia CEO Cameron Francis and chemist Madeline Harding at Schoolies. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Speaking at the official pre-Schoolies media conference at the start of the annual event, Mr O’Connor said the new Crisafulli government was locked into a contract negotiated by the former Labor administration but did not support pill-testing because “there is no safe way to take drugs”.

The government is expected to get rid of the service for next year’s event.

But in a 2019 Facebook post, the young Gold Coast MP said a pill-testing trial for Schoolies and music festivals “should be considered”.

“The reason I believe we need to look at this is because data shows it can change behaviour,” he told his followers.

“That’s the ultimate goal, to stop young people taking these things. I’m only saying we should think about a trial so we can see what the data shows for Queensland.

“It has a better chance of stopping drug use than what we are currently doing. Isn’t that the outcome we want.”

Mr O’Connor, who is regarded as a progressive within the conservative party on issues including abortion and the environment, said in the Facebook post that the messaging around illicit drugs “is not working”.

“We are seeing needless deaths of kids,” he said.

“From talking to experts in this field and from what I’ve seen at Schoolies and music festivals myself - pills are only being used more often.

Youth Minister Sam O’Connor has previously expressed support for pill testing. File picture: Liam Kidston.

“They are becoming one of the biggest issues at these events. It’s especially important for Schoolies, somewhere that many young people will be exposed to these substances for the first time.

“It is by no means a silver bullet but we need to consider harm reduction strategies like it.”

In September 2019, Mr O’Connor also asked then-Health Minister Steven Miles what investigations the government was undertaking into providing pill-testing or drug checking services in Queensland and whether it would be trialled at major events such as Schoolies or music festivals.

Posting on Facebook, he said a report on a pill-testing trial at Canberra’s Groovin the Moo festival had come out and “I want to know where the QLD Government is at and whether they’ll trial it at any upcoming festivals or Schoolies”.