Daniel Andrews confirms there’s no plan to change Victoria’s pill testing laws despite Qld shift

The Victorian Premier has spoken out after Queensland moved to make major changes to its drug laws.

Daniel Andrews has doubled-down on his firm stance to not alter Victoria’s pill testing laws despite Queensland’s movement on the issue.

The Premier made the comments on Tuesday morning after the sunshine state announced it would run at least one drug-checking trial site within six months

But despite hailing from the same party as Annastacia Palaszczuk, Mr Andrews said he had no plans to follow the Queensland government’s lead.

“The government is not introducing a pill-testing trial. Queensland can do that if they choose to, we aren’t,” he said.

Mr Andrews justified his tough stance by saying pill testing doesn’t make the consumption of party drugs like MDMA and ecstasy safe or reliable.

“I don’t think you can take these drugs at any level and be safe,” he said.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he will not introduce pill testing to Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Valeriu Campan

“Pill testing can often give people a sense that it is safe to take those drugs. The pharmacology, the evidence, is very, very clear.”

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Nicole Higgins said it will take state governments to legislate new rules in order to save drug users’ lives.

“Every time festival season comes around in particular, we learn of young people with their whole lives ahead of them dropping dead from overdoses,” she said in a statement.

“It doesn’t need to be this way; we can look at what has worked overseas and in the ACT and save lives.”

Queensland’s plan would introduce fixed and mobile pill testing sites in Brisbane and at festivals around the state to chemically test illicit drugs and check for the presence of potentially dangerous substances.

The ACT was the first place in Australia to instate a fixed pill-testing site in 2022.