News
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High School Student Hits Back At Gladys Berejiklian’s Pill Testing BS On ‘Q&A
Berejiklian’s appearance on the panel comes a day after Pill Testing Australia released its report on the April Groovin The Moo trial, which identified seven samples containing the potentially deadly substance n-ethyl pentylone before they could be consumed. Among its other findings: in addition to the professional analysis offered to…
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A new study supports pill testing, but politicians still refuse to take action
I’d like to think we’ve moved past the point where abstinence is a practical end goal for everyone. Pill Testing Australia says it succinctly in the report: “No matter how strong our desire for people not to use drugs or our efforts at education and prevention, people will continue to…
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Groovin’ the Moo pill-testing trial unveils seven ‘toxic’ tablets
The ACT government is being urged to introduce Australia’s first ever fixed-site community drug testing facility after the discovery of a number of potentially fatal substances during a pill-testing trial held in Canberra. Pill Testing Australia held its second trial at the Groovin’ the Moo festival in Canberra in April and…
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The Full And “Somewhat Unexpected” Results of Australia’s Second Pill-Testing Trial Are In
In their official report, PTA have further outlined the trial’s effects. Noticeably, PTA announced an “unintended benefit”: punters who had their pills tested and found unexpected substances would spread word to friends with pills (assumedly from the same batch), who would return with those friends to also get tested. According…
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New Report Shows Just How Successful Groovin The Moo’s Pill Testing Trial Was
“Prohibition is a policy of rejection and of saying we don’t care about drug users. Pill testing shows we take their health seriously. We must acknowledge the current approach is resulting in unintended consequences and instead choose policies that have worked elsewhere. It’s time to get over the stigma and…
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Pill testing trial at Canberra Groovin The Moo festival finds deadly drugs
Deadly substances linked to several mass overdoses around the world were detected at a pill-testing trial at this year’s Groovin The Moo festival in Canberra. A new report into the trial also calls for a pilot fixed site for pill testing in the ACT. The report said 170 substances had…
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After 2 festival deaths, the NSW government rushed through a new drug homicide crime. But it may do more harm than good
In its haste to “do something” in response to their tragic deaths, the NSW government failed to consider harmful consequences that may arise from treating drug-related fatalities as homicide. In fact, my research of how similar laws have operated in the US suggests the new crime of “drug supply causing…
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2nd Pill Testing Report Released
Pill Testing Australia has released its report on the 2nd Pilot Pill Testing Program that was in pace for the Groovin the Moo Festival in Canberra in April 2019 2nd-Pill-Testing-Pilot-August-2019Download […]
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To arrest drug use harm, we can’t just rely on arrests
Dr David Caldicott, an emergency medicine specialist, said the increase in arrests and seizures related to drugs like heroin and hallucinogens did not mirror trends seen in hospitals. He said drugs policy in Australia had three key pillars – reducing supply, reducing demand and reducing harm. While it was important…
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Unlawful strip searches are on the rise in NSW and police aren’t being held accountable
Strip searches are meant to only be used by officers if they suspect, on reasonable grounds, that it’s necessary “for the purpose of the search” and there are “serious and urgent” circumstances that make it necessary. But the law provides no other criteria to guide police. In a non-policing context,…