Premier ‘seeking further advice’ on pill testing after overdoses at festivals

Premier Jacinta Allan will open debate about pill testing with cabinet ministers and seek expert advice on the harm-minimisation approach, as she signalled a shift in tone on possible drug reform after music festivals were beset with overdoses.

Nine people overdosed at the Hardmission Festival in Flemington this month and two others were hospitalised at Juicy Fest last Friday after suspected drug use on another hot day, which prompted renewed debate about the way party drugs are policed in Victoria.

Premier Jacinta Allan says she will seek advice from colleagues and health experts.Credit: Eddie Jim

Allan had refused to budge on trialling a drug-checking service, despite four coroners in six years recommending the move, and last week said people needed to take personal responsibility for their safety. But she softened her language on Tuesday while repeating that she had no plans to change policy.

“There are no current plans to change the policy setting on drug checking. However, I am seeking further advice from the health department about what we’re seeing over the summer period,” Allan said on ABC Melbourne radio.

“There is a lot of expert advice that’s already in this space, and I will acknowledge, too, there’s also reports from coroners’ processes previously. So I think it’s important to examine that evidence and advice.

“I also need to have further conversations with colleagues, ministerial colleagues who have the policy responsibility for this area. So I do want to get that advice, have those discussions.”

The Hardmission Festival at Flemington Racecourse, where a mass overdose event occurred this month.

Allan repeatedly refused to rule pill testing in or out, and said the government would seek health advice in the context of a harm-minimisation approach. The government could make no change or pursue other measures, such as an improved alert system.

One minister, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said they believed the premier already privately supported a trial and that police would be the main opposition to pill testing.

Drug checking or pill testing, which allows a user to have the contents of their illicit substances analysed before consumption, is being trialled in Queensland and the ACT.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto agreed there was a conversation to be had, but said pill testing would give young people a false sense of security to take drugs such as MDMA.

“The health and safety of young Victorians needs to come first, and there are ways to promote that health and safety without the risks that surround pill testing,” Pesutto said.

The Greens, Legalise Cannabis and Animal Justice Party have co-sponsored a bill in the upper house of the Victorian Parliament to establish a two-year pill-testing trial.

Aiv Puglielli, the Greens’ drug harm reduction spokesman, said a drug-checking service could also connect attendants to a drug counsellor with tailored advice.

“The experts keep telling us pill testing works yet under this premier’s leadership, this government refuses to take its fingers out of its ears,” Puglielli said.

“Sniffer dogs will not save lives. Tough talk from cops and politicians will not save lives. Pill testing will.”

Libertarian MP David Limbrick also supports a drug-checking service.

Victoria Police increased its presence at Juicy Fest with sniffer dogs on Friday after the Hardmission Festival overdoses.

At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Allan said the Department of Health would advise on its investigation into last week’s hospitalisations and whether new substances were circulating in the Victorian drug market.

“I reiterate, there are no current plans to change the policy setting on drug checking, and we need to wait for the advice that comes through from the Department of Health on their investigation into the circumstances,” Allan said.

The Age on Tuesday revealed a new study, analysing national coronial records, found that 64 drug-related deaths at music festivals around the country over 20 years could have potentially been prevented. Seventeen of the deaths were in Victoria, according to the study by Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann from Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine.

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