Decriminalise drugs, introduce pill testing: NSW deputy coroner’s sweeping recommendations

The NSW deputy coroner also recommended decriminalising drug use while handing down her findings.

Julie Tam, mother of Joshua Tam, who died at a music festival, speaks to the media after the NSW deputy coroner’s findings were delivered. Picture: John Grainger

The NSW deputy coroner has recommended the state government look at drug legislation “with fresh eyes” and reframe its main priority from “reducing drug use to reducing drug deaths”.

Deputy coroner Harriet Grahame, who on Friday handed down her findings into recent music festival deaths, called for pill-testing to be trialled at music festivals from this summer, the personal use of drugs to be decriminalised and the use of police sniffer dogs be scrapped, amid a sweeping set of suggested reforms.

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In her findings Ms Grahame was highly critical of current policing methods at festivals and condemned the widespread use of strip searches to detect drug possession offences among young people.

“I am of the firm view that there is sound evidence that high-visibility policing and the use of drug-detection dogs is a harmful intervention … that damages young people’s perception of and trust in police, making them less likely to ask for help when they need it,” Ms Grahame said.

Magistrate Harriet Grahame. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

“It increases the fear without strong evidence it is effective in reducing drug use and/or supply.”

She said there was a system in place that mandated the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches “for a possible transgression which, even if confirmed … can be treated less seriously than a number of parking infringements.”

She urged NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller to direct his officers against taking a punitive approach to drug possession for personal use and rather concentrate operations on organised drug dealing.

Mr Fuller hit back at suggestions police contributed to the drug-related deaths.

“The community cannot ignore the fact that music festivals create a concentrated market for drug supply and organised criminal groups,” Mr Fuller said in the statement.
“It is truly tragic for these and many other young lives have been cut short due to drugs, however any suggestion police were implicit in these deaths will be strongly defended by me.”

She recommended the decriminalisation of personal drug use be discussed at a proposed NSW drug summit, “where people can come together away from politics to address some of the issues we face”.

Ms Grahame also recommended festival venues consider offering free cold water and install temperature-controlled “chill-out zones” so festival-goers can recuperate during the summer-held events.

Hoang Nathan Tran.

Diana Nguyen.

Ms Grahame’s extensive findings flow from the inquest examining the deaths of six young revellers after consuming MDMA at numerous music festivals across NSW between December 2017 and January 2019. They were Hoang Nathan Tran, Diana Nguyen, Joseph Pham, Callum Brosnan, Joshua Tam and Alexandra Ross-King, all aged between 18 and 23.

Families of the victims have called on the Premier to implement the coroner’s recommendations to ensure there won’t be “six more families grieving the loss of their loved ones in the coming festival season”.

Parents of the children who died at music festivals outside the coroner’s court after the findings were delivered. Picture: John Grainger

“We ask those who have the ability to affect change to put aside politics and the popular vote and make a decision to keep our kids, your kids, safe,” Joshua Tam’s mother Julie said.

“We would give anything to have our children back. That one poor decision … shouldn’t have taken them from us. As parents we implore you to implement change. Our families, and more importantly our lost loved ones, deserve that at the very least.”

Ms Tam told The Australian the coroner’s findings provided her “some sense of closure” but she was determined to effect “real change” in the way we talk with children about drug use and that she didn’t want her son’s life to be defined by “one reckless moment”.

Callum Brosnan.

Joshua Tam.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday reiterated her opposition to on-site pill testing, insisting her position on illegal drug taking would not change and arguing drug-testing gave users a false sense of security.

Former federal police commissioner Mick Palmer, who gave evidence questioning the efficacy current policing methods at the inquest, said “we can’t police our way out of this problem”.

“I’d encourage the Premier to look at (the recommendations) with a clean mind,” Mr Palmer said. “I would say as a final plea, it’s OK to change your mind.”