Groovin the Moo Canberra cancels pill testing

"Intervention at the government level seems to be the only real option to pursue.” 

"Intervention at the government level seems to be the only real option to pursue.”

 

Groovin the Moo will not provide drug tests at Sunday’s event as their insurers backed out just days before the music festival.

The insurance company requested information “that was impossible to provide them with at such short notice, effectively terminating our service,” said Pill Testing Australia’s spokesperson Gino Vumbuca. 

More than 40 volunteer staff, including health professionals, were enlisted by Pill Testing Australia to test at the event. 

“The message to insurance companies is simple. We are not permitted to provide this important (and potentially lifesaving) public health service for young people without insurance,” said Gino Vumbuca. 

“Your inability to see how pill testing reduces the risk of harm at festivals has substantially increased the risk of harm for young people. You have turned your back on the community you serve.”

Groovin is the first event in Australia to provide pill testing to musical festival punters, at the 2018 and 2019 Canberra events. Seven young people discarded their drugs after testing at the 2019 event found their pills contained n-ethylpentylone, which has been linked to multiple overdoses at overseas festivals. 

The pill testing facilities at Groovin the Moo 2019 at EPIC Showground in Canberra. Photo: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Both the New South Wales and federal governments oppose pill testing, despite a 2019 coronial inquest recommending implementing the practice. 

The inquest investigated drug-related deaths of six people, aged 18-23, at NSW music festivals Defqon, Knockout Games of Destiny and Lost Paradise, over two summers in 2018-2019. 

Deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame said there was “compelling” evidence to support pill testing. 

"Drug checking is simply an evidence-based harm reduction strategy that should be trialled as soon as possible in NSW," Grahame said.

The inquest also recommended the decriminalisation of personal drug use and jettisoning sniffer dogs at music festivals.

The crowd at Groovin The Moo 2019 in Canberra. Photo: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian repeatedly resisted calls for pill-testing to be introduced at festivals after the drug-related deaths of six young people, saying there was “no evidence” it would save lives, and would give people a “false sense of security.” 

“I am not sure what the answer is for the future of pill testing,” said Vumboco. “But intervention at the government level seems to be the only real option to pursue.”

A fixed-site pill testing facility, conducted by ANU and funded by ACT Health, is set to open in Canberra CBD in the coming weeks. The sixth-month trial will see the facility operate two nights per week. The exact location is yet to be disclosed.