Pill testing’s false sense of security won’t save anyone

As the nation prepares for another dangerous summer of musical festivals and drug taking, it’s time for people to listen to what those on the frontline have to say, writes paramedic Paul Spinks.

Deterring people to take drugs in the first place should always be the goal. Picture: iStock

With the music festival season set to commence as we enter the summer months, the threat of young people risking their lives from taking illicit drugs will not abate.

With the use of MDMA set to be rampant as always across the dance party scene, this will likely result in young Australians overdosing or having negative reactions to whatever dangerous products producers have elected to cut the product with, as we have seen so many times before.

The backdrop to this impending human tragedy that will see paramedics desperately trying to save the lives of kids high on the ‘happy’ pills, is the impending release of the NSW Coroners findings into the death of partygoers.

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It is widely expected that in her findings, NSW Deputy Coroner Harriet Grahame will call for pill testing machines at musical festivals and a reduction in policing of illicit drugs at these events.

Parademics are on the frontline of drug taking gone wrong. Picture: iStock

Should this be the outcome, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her government will face even more pressure to implement pill testing to save lives.

The Premier’s stance has remained firm. In her view, pill testing machines at music festivals will send a green light to kids to take illicit drugs, and that is not something she or her government support.

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I agree completely with the Premier and NSW government. Not from political ideology, but rather from spending two decades attending the scene of the aftermath of an adverse reaction to drugs as a paramedic.

One lesson I have learned is that there is no safe level of drug taking. This is a lesson learned from cradling the head of a young person as they near their final breath – often surrounded by other drug affected people spitting and hurling abuse at me.

What you also learn on the job very quickly is that deaths and adverse reactions to illegal drugs don’t only come from what the drug is cut with, but also from overdosing on the drugs themselves. Perhaps those who ardently campaign for pill testing should take a ride with paramedics to see first-hand the effects of drug use has upon our kids.

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To permit testing of illicit drugs in a prosecution free zone will give drug users and pushers a free hand to use and distribute an illegal product, and give a false sense of security around the drugs people are taking. Once their supply has been tested why would the same source for the drugs not be OK to use elsewhere?

Those who have resisted using drugs out of the fear of arrest or not being certain of what was contained within them will now have a government endorsed message that these drugs are safe to use and that there’s nothing to fear.

Perhaps those who ardently campaign for pill testing should take a ride with paramedics to see first-hand the effects of drug use has upon our kids. Picture: iStock

Here are the cold hard facts for those pushing for testing: by effectively creating decriminalised spaces for drug use, wider use of illicit drugs and young people putting themselves at risk of harm, in both the short and long term will grow. Continued use of these substances, whether given a government safety stamp or not, are severe and have the potential to inflict lifelong physical and mental health issues.

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As a community, we should be doing all we can to help our kids make better choices. This needs to be tackled in mandatory school education that requires children to learn what is used in these drugs and the dangerous impact upon our minds and body.

Illegal drugs are a scourge on our society; there is no good that comes from their use. We should be talking about getting tougher, not softer.

Deterring people to take them in the first place should always be the goal.

Paul Spinks is a MICA paramedic, trauma counsellor and mental health advocate.

Originally published as Pill testing’s false sense of security won’t save anyone