‘A certain degree of bravery’: Qld first state to roll out pill testing

The Queensland government wants other states to follow its lead and roll out pill testing for illicit drugs in a bid to reduce avoidable deaths.

In a decision described by one advocate as having a “certain degree of bravery”, the Palaszczuk government on Saturday said it hoped to have at least one drug-checking trial site running within six months.

“The evidence is clear – it makes a difference,” Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said.

“We know simply saying drugs are bad and harmful does not divert people away from them. We have to try new initiatives that are based on evidence.”

The move comes days after the state shifted towards decriminalising illicit drug possession and five years after drug-checking was first trialled at a Canberra music festival.

D’Ath reeled off results from trials in the ACT and overseas that showed people were often moved to reduce their intake once they learned the contents of their pill or powder.

Dr David Caldicott says there is a certain degree of bravery in Queensland’s decision.Credit: Christopher Pearce

One service at a UK festival coincided with a 95 per cent reduction in hospitalisations for drug use.

“It is about time jurisdictions across this country realise that in tackling the scourge of drugs and harm minimisation, we have to be willing to recognise the evidence that is available globally and take action,” D’Ath said.

“This will mean people reach out for help, stop using drugs and, importantly, not end up in our emergency departments or losing their lives.”

But Queensland opposition health spokeswoman Ros Bates, a registered nurse, said the move was “soft on drugs” and pointed to a suggestion from NSW Police that pill-testing gave users false confidence about safety.

D’Ath said she was very confident critics would find no evidence drug-checking led to increased use.

After music festival trials in 2018 and 2019, ACT became the first jurisdiction to sanction a fixed pill-testing site last year when CANTest opened.

Victoria and NSW have resisted pushes to roll out approved testing sites despite multiple coronial inquests into drug-related festival deaths recommending the measure.

The pill testing set-up used in the successful ACT trial.Credit: Christopher Pearce

The clinical lead of Pill Testing Australia and CANTest, emergency medicine physician David Caldicott, said Queensland’s move helped bring Australia in line with global standards.

“Any shift towards science and medicine is something to be vastly applauded and appreciated,” he said.

“There’s a certain degree of bravery – opponents [to drug checking] will have an anaphylaxis about moving away from the 1950s drug policy.”

The move reflected the community’s desire to shift from a tough-on-drugs approach to medically based solutions, he said.

“This is no longer an evidence or medical question. This is almost exclusively an ideological or political decision that has to be made,” Caldicott said.

Queensland will leave it to providers to decide whether to run fixed sites or take their services to music festivals and other events.

Protocols would be developed with police, who would not be stopped from acting on illicit drug possession, supply and trafficking.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean reiterated the state’s firm opposition to drug-checking on Saturday, saying the tests couldn’t determine the impact of a substance on an individual.

The state’s opposition leader Chris Minns said a drug summit would look at the issue of pill-checking if he was elected premier in March.

AAP