Groovin the Moo festival pill testing uncovers two potentially fatal chemicals

The first government-backed ­testing of illicit drugs at a music festival took place behind a screen in Canberra yesterday.

Groovin the Moo music festival at the University of Canberra. Picture: Sean Davey.

Pill testers at the Groovin the Moo music festival in Canberra yesterday discovered two potentially fatal chemicals in pills brought in by revellers at the first government-backed operation in Australian history.

In all, there were 128 participants who brought in 85 samples of illicit drugs. Half of these contained pure Methylenedioxymethamphetamine — MDMA — and half contained other substances like lactose, sweetener and paint.

Two of the samples were deadly, however, and contained the toxic N-Ethylpentylone (ephylone) which has been responsible for mass overdoses around the world.

Harm Reduction Australia advocate Matt Noffs — who runs the drug and alcohol treatment service for young people Noffs Foundation — tweeted: “So, harm reduced. We did it.”

Our #pilltesting heroes. To everyone involved - @ssdp_australia , @harmreductionau @TedNoffs @ACTINOSProject , Australian Drug Observatory, @DanceWize , our supporters - @actgovernment , ACT Police, @groovinthemoo , and our Just One Life team, you just made history. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/BlU5dtfE8v

— Matt Noffs (@mattnoffs) April 29, 2018

Testing drugs was so popular at the Groovin the Moo festival that an official apologised for long waiting times.

“We’ve got more people than we expected,” he said to those waiting at the medical tent.

The controversial decision — given the green light by ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris late last week after festival organisers Cattleyard Promotions agreed to allow it — created an uneasy truce between law enforcement and health officials.

ACT police pledged not to “actively target the health precinct or their users”. A spokeswoman said the force would “continue to target and investigate the sale and supply of illicit drugs”.

By late afternoon a queue had formed for the testing service, operated by Safety Testing Advisory Service at Festival and Events (STA-SAFE).

Festival-goers at the Groovin the Moo music festival. Picture: Sean Davey.

The system, which began without any legislative backing, requires those who use the service to sign a waiver that purports to release the government, festival promoters and testing staff from liability if an overdose occurs after pills have been tested.

“Service staff test a small sample of your pill, then interpret and provide the results with information about the risks of consuming the substances identified in the sample,” the ACT Health website says. “Pill testing facilities have been effectively used internationally since the 1990s and are currently available in about 20 countries in Europe, the Americas and New Zealand.

“Even with laboratory-level testing, service staff never advise users that the drug they are taking is ‘safe’.”

Police did not use sniffer dogs at the event but officers roamed the university grounds. Police could not confirm if any arrests for drug possession were made.

At an earlier stage of the Groovin the Moo festival, held in the Maitland Showgrounds in the lower NSW Hunter Valley, 40 people were arrested for possession of illicit substances.

Police pose with Groovin the Moo festival patrons. Picture: Sean Davey.

The waiver and advice for users of the Canberra service, posted on a sheet of paper inside the medical tent, also advised revellers not to show staff if they had a “commercial” quantity of drugs.

The service, it said, was only for those who intended to take the drugs themselves.

Greens ACT Legislative Assembly member Shane Rattenby was outside the pill-testing tent for several hours yesterday, speaking with people as they came in.

The decision to offer the service has been howled down by the territory opposition with the Liberals’ legal spokesman, Jeremy Hanson, saying the venture sent the wrong message.

“I’m very concerned about the young people who are now going to be taking drugs under the misapprehension that these drugs are safe, and the consequences and the harm that’s being done to them,” he said last week. “If someone engages in pill-testing, and then gets very sick after taking illicit drugs, who’s responsible for that? Who’s culpable?”

Ms Fitzharris countered by saying: “It’s really important to note that it doesn’t in any way condone illicit drug use. It is an important harm-minimisation measure.”