Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival first in Qld to introduce pill testing

A music festival in Queensland’s Southern Downs, where two young people died in 2019, will introduce pill testing for the first time in the state. POLL

A music festival in Queensland’s Southern Downs, where two young people died in 2019, will introduce pill testing for the first time in the state.

The organisers of Rabbits Eat Lettuce music festival, which will be held over the Easter long weekend at Cherrabah Resort at Elbow Valley, made the decision after Queensland became the second jurisdiction in the country to introduce a drug testing initiative in February last year.

Fixed-site locations will be set-up to test the safety of drugs at the festival over the Easter weekend.

Five years ago couple Ebony Greening, 22, of Nambour, and Dassarn Tarbutt, 24, of Maleny, were found in their tent at the festival.

The coroner found they both had a lethal cocktail of drugs in their systems when they died.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said the state government would invest almost $1 million to fund the delivery of pill testing services in Queensland during the next two years.

She said the government was working with the University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research to evaluate the services and develop a statewide monitoring framework for pill testing.

A scene from the Rabbits Eat Lettuce music festival. Picture: Daniel Tran

Fixed-site pill testing services will begin in April at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane’s inner north, with a second site to be determined.

“I want to be clear that these services are all about harm minimisation,” Ms Fentiman said.

“We don’t want people ending up in our emergency departments – or worse, losing their life.”

The move was applauded by the Greens in parliament on Thursday who insisted it would save lives.

Greens MP Michael Berkman applauded the move and called for the LNP to reconsider its stern stance against testing.

“The LNP needs to grow up and get behind harm reduction measures like pill testing,” he said.

“Any politician who stands in the way of something that saves young lives is not fit for office.

“Whether you like it or not, people are going to use drugs – are you going to punish them, or are you going to help them access information that could save their life?”

The festival will also offer Alcohol & Drug Swab Testing onsite so revellers can test themselves to ensure they are safe to drive before leaving the venue.

Festival founder Erik Lamir said organisers had campaigned tirelessly for pill testing.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to minimising harm and empowering our festival-goers with informed decisions regarding substance use” he said.

“By offering discreet, legal and medically approved testing, we aim to reduce the risks associated with substances to ensure our community can enjoy the festival’s vibrant offerings with peace of mind.”

He said the festival had worked closely with local councils, community leaders, and “forward-thinking Queensland authorities” to encourage a safer and more informed experience for all attendees.

“We work to provide a stimulating sensory experience for patrons so they can enjoy the event without feeling the need to consume drugs,” they said in a statement.

“However we understand some patrons may decide to consume drugs and we know this pill testing service will reduce those associated harms.”

Dassarn Tarbutt.

Dassarn Tarbutt and Ebony Greening were found dead at the Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival.

They highlighted their dedication to a safer festival experience beyond pill testing with a “Conscious Nest and Helper Huts” serving as sanctuaries for drug education, support, and rest, “embodying our ethos of care and community.”

Principal Research Fellow, University of Queensland Associate Professor Caroline Salom PhD UQ’s said the Institute for Social Science Research applauded the advent of drug checking in Queensland.

“We’ve been waiting with great anticipation to see drug checking introduced in Australia and then in Queensland, so we’re very thrilled to see this starting,” she said.

“This gives substance users an opportunity to engage with credible, timely and reliable information about the substances that they have.

“But the other side of this is that it also gives them access to health professionals who can offer them support and harm minimisation information beyond just the contents of their substance.”

LNP health spokeswoman Ros Bates lashed the decision on social media – accusing the government of being “soft on drugs”, while Deputy LNP leader Jarrod Bleijie also insisted his party would not support the ­initiative, saying it would send the “wrong message”.

Ms Salom said these criticisms were levelled at almost every opportunity taken to reduce harm, except for a complete abstinence approach.

“We know historically that in Australia, around the world, the ‘just say no’ approach doesn’t work, the war on drugs approach doesn’t work, people choose to use substances and have done so for hundreds of years,” she said.

Ms Fentiman said she was thrilled to be supporting “new and innovative” services to help reduce harms from illicit drug use.

“In 2021, there were 2231 drug-induced deaths in Australia – the equivalent of five deaths a day,” she said. “That’s 2231 deaths too many, and we know this number will continue to grow if we don’t act now.”

She reiterated that these services were about harm minimisation and preventing people from ending up emergency departments or losing their life.

RACGP Alcohol and Other Drug spokesperson Dr Hester Wilson said she is “incredibly pleased” the government had made this decision and that other jurisdictions should follow Queensland’s lead.

“To all state and territory governments my question is a simple one – what are you waiting for?” she asked.

“We don’t condone drug use, I would prefer it if people didn’t use drugs … but we as a species have taken psychoactive substances for millennia, some of us like doing it, some of us don’t.”

Dr Wilson said criticisms of harm reduction measures like substance testing understandable due to the demonisation of illicit substances, but stressed legal substances, such as alcohol and tobacco, cause more harm.

“It’s about absolutely giving people credible information so they can make informed decisions, in terms of their choices, whether they take this or not, it’s just practical,” she said.

“I’m a mum of teenage kids, I don’t want them to take drugs, I don’t want them to smoke or drink alcohol. But I know they probably will at some point.

“I want them to be able to access good, credible information that keeps them safe so that they come home to me alive.”

She also pointed to evidence such harm reduction measures can actually decrease drug use citing a study from the UK which followed up with young people who engaged in drug safety checks.

“It was a group of people that hadn’t accessed drug and alcohol services before, who were using for the first time, who didn’t have the information,” she said.

“And with that interaction, really learning about the risks, quite a few of them decided never to use again.”

According to ABS data from 2019, opioid-induced deaths in five years prior were significantly higher than those recorded ten years prior with a death rate of 4.6 recorded in 2018 compared to 4.0 in 2009.

“The very potent opioids that are being mis-sold as stimulants are just terrible, if you thought you were going to take a stimulant and you got it tested and found out it was an opioid you wouldn’t take it,” said Ms Wilson.

“There have been a number of recent deaths where that has happened and that is an absolute tragedy, any person that dies because they haven’t been able to get their drugs tested and make a decision.

“Beautiful people in our communities are dying because they don’t have access to this information.”

“The reality is, are more people going to take drugs? Probably not, but they’re going to make better decisions around whether they choose to take it or not.”