‘It’s about saving lives’: Premier Jacinta Allan reveals how pill testing will work in Victoria

A woman whose son died from an overdose of illicit drugs at a music festival says the Allan government’s pill testing trial is “a step in the right direction”.

A mum whose son died from an overdose at a Victorian music festival has welcomed the Allan government’s pill testing trial.

Adriana Buccianti, whose son Daniel died after he overdosed on a mixture of illicit drugs at Rainbow Serpent Festival in 2012, labelled the trial “bittersweet”.

“I’ve been advocating for pill testing since 2012,” she said.

“The announcement has come out of nowhere … I guess I have to praise Jacinta for actually doing something about it, Daniel Andrews wasn’t interested.

“I think this is a step in the right direction but I think there’s a lot to be done.”

Adriana Buccianti’s son Daniel died in 2012 after a drug overdose at a festival. Picture: Josie Hayden

The Melbourne mum said she believed pill testing could have saved her son.

“I think if there was something in place in 2012, Daniel would have spoken with the educators at the festival and had his substances tested,” she said.

“No one, including my son, would ever want to come out of one of those festivals in a body bag.

“The testing is not about condoning drugs, it’s about having a discussion, it’s about having the education.”

Another Melbourne mother, whose son survived a drug overdose at Hardmission Festival this year, said she had mixed feelings about the trial.

She said her son took “clean drugs” but was still placed into an induced coma and in intensive care for two days.

“I have mixed feelings about it. It scares me,” she said on Nova.

“If he had that pill tested, they would have said ‘yes that pill is fine to take’.

“He didn’t have dirty drugs, they were clean drugs and we still ended up with the same result.

“If it saves lives, fantastic, but it’s not going to be the 100 per cent answer.”

Premier Jacinta Allan announced the plan for the trial on Monday night. Picture: Diego Fedele

Premier says testing about ‘saving lives’

Partygoers will have access to free pill testing with the Allan government set to roll out mobile test units at music festivals as part of a landmark trial.

Premier Jacinta Allan said on Tuesday pill testing would be made permanent across the state, with the trial being run only to assess the best model to be used.

“This is about saving lives,” Ms Allan said.

“I don’t condone drugs but if a young person gets handed a pill at a festival they need someone to tell them exactly what it is and exactly what it does, without telling them that it’s safe.

Ms Allan said no person who used the service would ever be told a drug was safe to consume.

Instead, they would be told what’s in the drug and have a conversation with an expert about the consequences and choices they faced.

“We can put our heads in the sand like politicians have done for decades or we can change behaviour,” she said.

Ambulance union boss Danny Hill said it was a “common sense move”.

“You can never make illicit drugs safe, however what paramedics are most fearful of, is a bad batch circulating,” he said.

“That’s usually what leads to mass overdoses and serious reactions. Pill testing can identify those bad batches and potentially save lives.”

But the state’s powerful police union has criticised the move and said the government will need to clearly outline how it expects police to enforce drug taking at music festivals.

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said pill testing is “not the panacea”.

“Pill testing diminishes the illegality of illicit drug taking in a particular area at a particular time and that flies directly in the face of long-accepted policing principles, personal responsibility and the law,” he said.

Pesutto says it gives ‘green light’ to dangerous drug-taking

The opposition has vowed to repeal pill testing legislation if it wins government in 2026.

Opposition leader John Pesutto said it gave a “green light” to dangerous drug taking behaviour.

“It also, unfortunately, lays out a welcome mat for those who will deal in pills and other drugs, who will see this as an invitation to only expand their activities,” he said.

Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy also attacked the trial, saying it was “extremely reckless for the premier to give parents and young people a false belief that testing illegal drugs for contaminants will make them safe”.

“We all want our young people to be safe, but on-site drug testing has significant limitations,” she said.

“It can’t measure how strong a drug is, how an individual will metabolise a drug, or predict how someone will react to a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

As part of the 18-month trial, a mobile service will attend up to 10 music festivals later this year and a fixed site, to be located in Melbourne’s inner suburbs, will open in the middle of next year.

Jacinta Allan says pill testing doesn’t promote drug use but it keeps people safe. Picture: iStock

Testing to become permanent after trial

Pill testing will become a permanent feature in Victoria after the trial, which will determine the best way to provide the service.

Taxpayers will fork out $4m for the trial, which the government described as a “fairly modest” cost.

Victoria Police said it would work with government to understand the legislation and how to operationalise it.

“Ultimately any new legislation is a matter for government and Victoria Police will enforce the law accordingly,” a spokeswoman said.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said paramedics regularly see the effects of drug use.

“We are supportive of any initiatives aimed at reducing their impact,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter what a patient has taken, we will treat them without judgment to ensure they are safe.”

In a separate video posted to social media, Ms Allan said the decision was inspired by her own children.

“In a few years, they’ll be heading off to parties, to music festivals, and like all parents I catch myself thinking, what if the worst happens? What if one of them doesn’t make it home?,” she said.

“That’s every parent’s worst nightmare – and more parents are living it.”

Ms Allan said she had softened to the idea of pill testing in recent years as her children grew but refused to say whether she privately advocated for the change when Daniel Andrews was premier.

Mr Andrews was firm against pill testing and repeatedly said that the notion of testing sent a “green light message to people”.

In February the Herald Sun revealed the government was canvassing the idea of a pill testing trial as part of wider drug reforms to replace the city’s second injecting room.

It subsequently dropped plans to open the injecting room, opting instead to open a city medical hub.

MPs Aiv Puglielli, Georgie Purcell and Rachel Payne in ‘speed dealer’ sunglasses.

The pill testing decision comes after three crossbench MPs – Georgie Purcell, Aiv Puglielli and Rachel Payne – dressed up as drug dealers at parliament to call for a trial.

The government had come under increasing pressure to introduce such a pill testing trial particularly in the wake of January’s Hardmission music festival which saw eight revellers put into induced comas following a mass MDMA overdose.

State coroner John Cain had also repeatedly urged the government to green light pill testing.

At a press conference earlier this month, Ms Allan flagged the possibility of a trial but said it would be up to her cabinet to endorse such a plan.

The government has recently received advice from the Department of Health about the testing of pills.

Documents obtained by the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information laws this year revealed paramedics attended 20 overdoses across six festivals between January and March this year.