Premier Jacinta Allan has a wealth of evidence supporting pill testing to look at if she feels like changing her mind.
Pressure is mounting on the Victorian government to establish pill-testing services, with three people remaining in hospital in critical condition following a mass overdose at electronic music festival Hardmission last weekend.
A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that more than 60-drug related deaths that occurred at Australian music festivals over the last two decades could have been prevented with harm-reduction strategies such as pill-testing services.
Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne, Dr Jennifer Schumann, head of the Drug Intelligence Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, said there was already a wealth of international evidence demonstrating the efficacy of pill-testing services as a harm-reduction strategy.
“There’s a lot of strong evidence from around the world, many decades of implementation of drug-checking services that demonstrate that they save lives and they significantly reduce the harm caused by drug use at these festivals,” Dr Schumann said.
Premier Jacinta Allan has said she will “seek further advice” from the Victorian health department on proposed changes to establish pill testing statewide.
In an interview on ABC Radio Melbourne yesterday, Premier Allan ruled out introducing drug-checking services in the immediate future but said she would consult with the health department on the merits of the services.
“What’s important here is to consider the evidence and advice from experts, and that’s the approach we take across all of our policy settings on alcohol and other drug use,” Ms Allan said.
“That is why there are no current plans to change the policy setting on drug checking, but I am seeking some further advice from the health department about what we’re seeing over this summer period.
“There is a lot of expert advice already in this space, and I will acknowledge too there’s also reports from coroners’ processes previously.
“It’s important to examine that evidence and advice and consider that in the policy settings that we have across all of our alcohol and drug policy measures.”
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