Pill testing is the answer politicians don’t want

IF you’re claiming you want to stop drug deaths, but don’t support pill testing, well, I’m sorry, but you don’t really want to stop drug deaths, writes Jill Poulsen.

IF you think banning music festivals will save lives, you’re off your head.

Tragically, there have been four deaths in five years at the Defqon. 1 dance music festival.

Saturday’s event in Penrith resulted in the death of 23-year-old Joseph Pham and a 21-year-old woman from Melbourne. A 19-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were both stable in hospital. Another man was at Liverpool Hospital in a “critical but stable” condition.

The poor track record prompted NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to say she’d be doing everything in her power to make sure it never happens again.

I guess she means everything in her power to make sure the festival never happens again, because if she meant everything in her power to stop deaths from dodgy pills, she would welcome pill testing with open arms instead of point-blank refusing.

She’s even set up an expert panel on how to make music festivals safer, but unbelievably, the panel will not even consider the merits of pill testing.

In stark comparison to Berejiklian’s head-in-the-sand approach is LNP MP Andrew Laming, who has called for pill-testing labs to be set up in inner-city suburbs as an alternative to controversial testing tents at music festivals.

Laming says facilities such as needle exchanges or safe injecting rooms could be used to allow users to have illicit drugs tested for purity.

Joseph Pham died after taking drugs at the Defqon dance music festival.

“We must say that drug testing can occur somewhere safely for people over the age of 18 that are not drug-affected or intoxicated, that can be given professional advice well away from the place where they are buying the drugs,” he told Parliament’s Federation Chamber.

What we need are evidence-based, harm-minimisation strategies to keep our young people safe — not the usual “drug are bad … mkay” messaging that has failed thus far.

The Australian-first pill-testing trial at Groovin the Moo in Canberra this year saw 85 substances tested.

Two lethal substances were found inside clear capsules and both were disposed of immediately.

Will banning this music festival mean no more drug deaths?

It also led to the discovery of new drugs authorities were not aware of.

There’s no question it was a lifesaving exercise.

Many years ago I had the misfortune of holding a friend’s hand on the way to hospital after she took a bad pill. It was terrifying and not a situation I’d like to be in again.

Luckily, a stay overnight in hospital was all she needed to come good.

She was an educated, bright person. She knew the risks associated with taking party drugs but made the decision to do it anyway.

Had the option been available to her to test the drugs, I know she would have done so and promptly thrown the botched batch in the bin.

We don’t ban pubs because some fools choose to drink and drive.

They know the risks of getting behind the wheel drunk but do it anyway.

Casual drug users know the risk of taking drugs but choose to do it anyway.

Banning a music festival won’t do anything to stop the drug habits of casual users.

Wasting police resources by having sniffer dogs line the gates won’t stop them, either. It’s well and truly #timetotest.

Jill Poulsen is a Courier-Mail senior journalist and columnist.

@jill_poulsen