MP wants to witness pill testing trial first-hand

A Labor MP wants to witness pill testing first-hand as the Queensland Government weighs the potential benefits to the state.

LABOR MP Aaron Harper wants to witness pill testing first-hand and travel to Australia’s second trial in April, citing it as an issue of social responsibility.

The Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee chairman said more could be done in the space of harm minimisation.

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“(I am) keen to go down and see first-hand how they do that study,” he said.

“I think it’s a small step in trying to prevent harm in that space.”

Pill testing was trialled for the first time in Australia at music festival Groovin the Moo last year in Canberra, and will run again at the same festival in April.

Mr Harper, who has read the study from the trial, said he was also watching a petition, which calls on the Government to introduce a pill testing trial in Queensland, “very closely”.

As of last night, the petition had 1589 signatures.

“There is more to do in that space,” Mr Harper said.

The International Family Drug Support Day 2019 event was held at Parliament this week, where Mr Harper also said education was key for young people.

Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee chairman Aaron Harper

Queensland Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic also spoke at the event, and said he had no doubt pill testing was a safer option when it came to harm minimisation.

“It is not a panacea and it is only one component of a broader harm minimisation approach that we need to take to support supply and demand reduction measures,” he said.

“It is, though, a powerful way to reach hard to reach groups of recreational users and usually first-time users about the risks of taking any drugs.

“It is important in this debate to understand that the real benefit of pill testing is not the test results per se, but the rare opportunity that health professionals will have to talk to the person about the risks associated with illicit substances and the ability to provide a message that no substance is safe.

“We need to work together to ensure no more lives are lost at music festivals and no more families are left to grieve the loss of a loved one.

“We also need to consider how we expand temporary sites such as those at festivals to fixed sites in high patronaged precincts.”

Greens MP Michael Berkman also reiterated his support for pill testing.

The State Government is currently considering the report from last year’s trial.