David Heilpern, Lead of Drive Change, an organization auspiced by HRA to lobby for change to the drug driving laws for prescribed medicinal cannabis patients
[…]In the News RSS feed for this section
No doubting the need, Melbourne needs a second safe injecting room
If there is a lesson to be learnt from Melbourne’s first safe-injecting room in North Richmond, which the state government finally made permanent this month after a five-year trial, it’s that the success of such a facility relies on appeasing the community as much as managing what goes on inside. […]
HRA Federal Budget Media Release – 9 May 2023
Harm Reduction Australia welcomes the announcement in tonight’s Federal Budget that will see $377.3m over 4 years (with $98.4m ongoing) invested in making access more affordable under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program (ODTP).
[…]Heroin overdoses surge in Melbourne as health services struggle to cope
The most recent data from the Victorian coroner’s court shows between July 2020 and June 2022 Melbourne’s city centre had the highest amount of fatal heroin overdoses of any local government area. […]
Five drug-induced deaths per day in Australia in 2021: new report
There were 1788 drug-induced deaths among Australians in 2021, according to preliminary estimates in a new report by the Drug Trends program at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW Sydney. […]
Richmond safe injecting room made permanent after late-night vote
Victoria’s first safe injecting room will become permanent in North Richmond after a protracted debate in the state’s upper house ended in a late-night vote on Thursday. […]
This medication has cost Leah’s family $180,000, and counting
Harm reduction experts say excluding opiate treatment patients from those PBS benefits amounts to discrimination against some of Australia’s most vulnerable people. […]
Singapore executes prisoner for smuggling cannabis
A prisoner has been hanged in Singapore for smuggling 1kg of cannabis, despite a plea from the United Nations to urgently reconsider the execution. […]
Queensland Confirms Drug Law Reform but is the ‘Devil Still in the Detail’?
HRA remains concerned with the number of people to be excluded – see our 23 Feb Media Release
[…]‘Join the movement’: Minister calls for pill testing trial in NSW
A NSW minister has broken ranks to urge her Labor government colleagues to “join the nationwide movement” toward pill testing at music festivals, while also suggesting controversial policing tactics such as strip searches and drug-detection dogs should be part of the promised drug summit. […]
New Queensland drug laws will keep thousands of people out of justice system, advocates say
Queensland parliament is poised to pass legislative changes that will divert thousands of people out of the courts and into health and education programs each year in a landmark shift in the state’s approach to illicit substances that new polling shows has popular support. […]
Groovin the Moo fails to secure pill testing again as insurers remain risk averse
Pill testing will not be available onsite at this year’s Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra after exorbitant insurance premiums meant the service was too costly to offer, but CanTEST is expanding its services on the festival weekend. […]
Canberra’s Groovin the Moo music festival will again be without pill-testing, as insurance becomes 22 times more expensive
Groovin the Moo will be without pill-testing when it returns to Canberra later this month. […]
HRA & PTA Media Release – 17 April 2023
Tasmanian government unmoved on pill testing despite drug warning to Panama festival-goers
The ACT is the only jurisdiction to allow fixed and onsite drug testing. Backed by Pill Testing Australia, the CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service uses a face-to-face service.
[…]
HRA submission to the Qld Police Powers & Responsibilities Amendment Bill 2023
Qld Parliamentary Legal Affairs & Safety Committee
[…]Strengthening Injecting-Related Harm Reduction in Prisons
March 2023
[…]Joint Letter re 2nd Melbourne MSIR
HRI23 – Hepatitis Pre Conference Program Available
Pill testing is coming to Queensland. Here’s what can we learn from programs overseas
Queensland’s move aligns the state with a growing international norm. In fact, the evidence to support such services has existed for decades.
[…]
What is found in illicit party drugs and how pill testing will work in Queensland
The Queensland government has announced it will be the second jurisdiction in Australia to provide illicit drug testing, aiming to change the behaviour of users and reduce the risk of harm. […]
Queensland Pill Testing – HRA Interview
[…]
Queensland to introduce pill testing in move away from ‘1950s …
Queensland will roll out pill-testing sites in an attempt to curb the harmful effects of illicit drugs. […]
The Australian Greens are moving ahead with the first national plan to legalise cannabis.
Senator David Shoebridge, on behalf of the Greens, has obtained compelling constitutional law advice that provides a path forward for Federal Parliament to legalise cannabis for adult use across the country. […]
Australia becomes first country to recognise psychedelics as medicines
Associate Professor David Caldicott, an emergency department doctor who appeared at the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide to advocate the drugs be used for returned soldiers suffering from psychological trauma, said he was pleasantly surprised by Friday’s decision. […]
Melbourne’s injecting room delay puts lives at risk as heroin overdoses spike in CBD
Stalled progress on the city’s second safe-injecting facility is heaping pressure on community health professionals
[…]
Canberra’s Free Pill-Testing Service Shows Most Ket Isn’t Ket
“There’s a storyline that drug users don’t care and they’re reckless and don’t give a shit about their own health, but it’s just not true.” […]
ACT extends confidential pill-testing service CanTEST as evaluation shows most users discard tainted drugs
“The lack of pill testing services outside Canberra is an ongoing tragedy for far too many people and families, and begs the question of how much more evidence is required for these services to be established,” Mr Vumbaca said. […]
We’ve detected a potent opioid in Canberra. Here’s what we know about it
Australia’s first government-sanctioned drug-checking service CanTEST has issued its inaugural ‘red alert’, the highest level of warning, following the detection of metonitazene in a yellow pill masquerading as the pharmaceutical drug oxycodone. We should be very worried about this drug’s emergence in Australia. […]
Red alert issued over ‘dangerous drug’ detected in Australia. Here’s the warning for festivalgoers
The ACT government has released the first ever ‘red alert’ over a drug detected through Australia’s first fixed pill testing site. […]
What’s in the drugs that are being tested at Australia’s first fixed-site pill testing clinic in the ACT?
A total of 500 samples have been tested at CanTEST in Canberra’s CBD since it opened in July as a drug-harm minimisation bid from the ACT government.
[…]
World Pride 2023 & Pill Testing
HRA Letter to NSW Premier to approve Pill Testing Australia request to provide pill testing services at World Pride 2023 events in Sydney
[…]Decriminalising cannabis could save Australian taxpayers $850m a year, report finds
New public health research says Australia’s prohibition approach to marijuana is not keeping pace with global best practice cannabis policy […]
Festival season, sniffer dogs and searches
Your guide to dealing with police at a festival […]
Demand so high for Canberra’s pill-testing service that 27 people were turned away ahead of Spilt Milk music festival
CanTEST extended its trading hours prior to the music festival Spilt Milk but still couldn’t meet demand […]
The ACT legislated to decriminalise possession of personal quantities of illicit drugs
By the time the ACT Legislative Assembly passed legislation on 20 October 2022 to commence the decriminalisation of personal quantities of all illicit drugs in October 2023, drug law reform was already well on its way around the world. […]
Sydneysiders declare city’s night-life is dead after sniffer dog video goes viral
Angry punters have declared that Sydney’s “night-life is dead”, after police were seen disturbing customers at a pub over the weekend. […]
ACT decriminalises drug possession: Labor MP Michael Pettersson on forging reform
That the century-old system of drug prohibition is a failure is well-established in legal circles, amongst medical experts, those who partake in illicit substances, families who’ve lost loved ones to the use of them, and a growing cross section of the community. […]
NSW government criticised in court over defence to music festival strip-searches
The government’s claim that strip-searches at music festivals could be reasonable – even if a judge finds they were unlawful – has been criticised in court as illogical. […]
Australia’s first fixed pill testing service CanTEST discovers new drug, dubbed ‘CanKet’
Australia’s first fixed pill testing site has discovered a new recreational drug not seen in the country before. […]
‘Canberra ketamine’: new recreational drug discovered at Australian pill-testing service
‘As far as we’re aware, this is the first detection of a new drug by a drug-checking service anywhere in the world,’ says professor […]
As Biden pardons pot possession, what does it mean to Australia’s War on Drugs?
Dr Alex Wodak, AM, is a former director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. He is now chair of Australia21, an independent think tank. I spoke to him on Thursday […]
Legalise pot? It’s high time, says ex-stockbroker Michael. But do others agree?
According to former NSW magistrate David Heilpern, who resigned over the issue in 2020, the medicinal cannabis industry won’t be financially viable until the “absurd” laws are reformed […]
Lawyer accuses cops of giving young people ‘dangerous’ advice on drug charges
A Sydney lawyer has accused police of providing “dangerous and incorrect” information to festival goers charged with drug offences. […]
Long weekend festivals see 18 people hospitalised due to drug overdoses
The summer music festival season has begun – and already 18 people across two events have been hospitalised with suspected drug overdoses.
[…]
‘A lot of MDMA that wasn’t MDMA’: The early results from inside Australia’s first drug testing clinic
Ever wondered what’s inside party drugs? We went behind the scenes of Australia’s first drug testing clinic in Canberra to see what you can expect when you go inside. […]
The Greens ‘relying on community support’ in new push to legalise cannabis
A constitutional law expert says the pathway to legalising cannabis is through regulating plant variety rights at a Commonwealth level. […]
HRA Statement on NSW Govt response to the Special Commission on Ice
This whole process has almost been a complete waste of money and time for everyone involved.
[…]VIDEO: Canberra considers introducing drug injecting room
A proposed drug strategy action plan will also assess whether more restrictions are needed on alcohol delivery services and vaping. […]
Debate on drug decriminalisation laws to pick up again as feedback on next steps sought
Drug decriminalisation laws will return to the ACT Legislative Assembly “shortly” as the government calls for community feedback on its updated drug action plan. […]
Canberra pill testing: What the lab found in Canberra’s drugs and why it’s important to know
By Malcolm McLeod, David Caldicott […]
Australia’s first government-backed pill testing clinic finds 40% of ‘cocaine’ contained no coke
Canberra service examined 58 samples in August with nearly a third of potential users discarding drugs once made aware of what they actually contained […]
ANU research uncovers shock truth of what’s in Australia’s party drugs
Research into Australia’s first government-backed pill testing service has revealed just what’s in some of the country’s most popular party drugs. […]
Queensland to examine pill test trial
“Is it in the best interest of individuals and festival goers, and will it lead to less deaths, less injuries and less drug use?” […]
Watch: What it’s like getting your drugs checked in New Zealand
Drug checking: NZ’s safe legal place to check your drugs […]
Some of the Most Conservative Corners of Regional Australia Support Legalising Cannabis
From Dickson to New England, here’s how some of Australia’s most conservative electorates feel about cannabis. […]
Police support “harm minimisation” approach of Canberra’s new pill testing service
Anna Vidot spoke with President of the Australian Federal Police Association Alex Caruana on Drive. […]
Hundreds join class action against NSW Police strip searches at music festivals
Music is a big part of Raya Meredith’s life, but these days she hesitates before going to a gig, scared she will be subject to a strip search by security or police. […]
THAILAND BREAKS AWAY FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA’S BRUTALLY PUNITIVE DRUG POLICIES
In a region that stands out for having some of the most brutally punitive drug policies in the world, it was astonishing to witness Thailand has become the first country in Asia to legalise cannabis. […]
The ACT’s bold pill-testing regime
Gino Vumbaca is president of Harm Reduction Australia. He and his team are behind the trial of the new facility which runs tests on drugs to make sure they’re safe for the user to take. He says trials at music festivals in recent years have undoubtedly saved lives. […]
The Forces Behind Australia’s First Fixed Pill Testing Site Hope It Sparks A National Trend
On Tuesday, Australia’s first fixed-site drug testing facility opened its doors in Canberra. During opening hours, two days a week, casual and routine drug users of all walks are encouraged to get their gear tested for threats. […]
Canberra to offer free pill testing at Australia’s first government-run drug-testing site
Drug users in the nation’s capital will be offered free pill testing in the CBD at Australia’s first government-run drug-testing site. […]
Pill testing has arrived in the ACT. Is it a sign of changing attitudes towards drugs?
In an Australian first, a fixed site drug and pill testing site is opening in Canberra with the aim of reducing the harm caused by illicit substances. […]
Letter to NSW Premier
Its Time for Drug Law Reform
[…]
HRA Biennial Survey 2021-22
Submission to NSW Parliamentary Inquiry
Medicinal Cannabis & Driving
[…]Insurance companies have betrayed the community on pill-testing
HRA Executive Director Appointed
Media Release 17 Feb 2022
[…]Parliamentary Inquiry into impact of illicit drugs being traded online
National Health Amendment Bill
HRA letter to Minister Greg Hunt
[…]An Australian First – Fixed Site Pill Testing Announced
7 Oct 2021 – Media Release
[…]
HRA Submission to the Opiate Dependence Treatment Program Post Market Review of Medicines
Australia needs drug testing and opioid blockers to reduce overdose deaths
If we want to reverse the growing trend of overdose deaths, naloxone, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids, must be distributed to everyone who is interacting with those who are dying, including the police. As well, it is time that we follow Spanos’s recommendation and make pill and drug testing available. […]
‘A disgrace’: Ice inquiry commissioner accuses government of ignoring calls for reform
The commissioner who led the state’s ice inquiry has accused the NSW government of missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity for drug reform and ignoring his recommendations 15 months after handing down a landmark report. Professor Dan Howard SC said he was deeply disappointed with the government’s failure to respond to the 104 remaining recommendations after rejecting five almost outright, including pill testing and another supervised injecting centre. […]
Australian cannabis laws are dishonest and need to change
It’s hard to know what it will take to fix the legal problems we have here with cannabis but one thing we do know is that the current approach based on a “don’t take drugs” (alcohol excepted) approach is not only a cruel joke but has become completely irrational. […]
Study finds pill testing at music festivals would not increase ecstasy use
Allowing pill testing at music festivals would not increase the use of ecstasy, research from Western Australia has suggested. The Edith Cowan University study surveyed 247 people and found pill testing at an event or in a fixed, permanent spot had no positive influence on the respondents’ intention to use MDMA. […]
Calls for pill testing at Bass in the Grass as thousands head to Darwin
Last week, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he was open to the idea of a pill testing trial but said for it to work, it would have to be based on the evidence. “We will look at what’s happening down south and make an informed decision off the back of that,” he said. […]
AIVL’s Melanie Walker on Coming Drug Decriminalisation and Treatment Access
The evidence is in. We know that pill testing saves lives. We know that it also leads to some people deciding not to take the drugs that they’ve had tested because they’ve found that they might be dangerous. It really is about allowing people to make informed choices around their drug use and to be sensible around it. […]
Media Release – 9th Feb 2021
Call for Federal Health Minister to immediately remove the discriminatory and unlawful payments plaguing the opioid treatment system
[…]What has changed in the year since cannabis possession was legalised in the ACT?
The architect of the legislation, Labor MLA Michael Pettersson, has been pleased with the results so far. But he said the laws were not the end of the road for drug reform, but rather a step towards treating drug use as a public health problem, rather than a criminal one. “For the most part, I think things are pretty similar to what they were before, but I think we’re now heading in the right direction,” he said. […]
2020 Was the Year That Momentous Drug Reform Became Normal
A US state decriminalised drugs, the UN admitted cannabis can be good for you and Colombia discussed buying up its entire cocaine harvest. It’s been a momentous year for drug liberalisation. […]
Drug Law Reform Is Desperately Needed, Yet Berejiklian Refuses to See Reason
When we discuss drug use in society, let us first remember that most illicit drug use is not problematic and secondly, that if someone we know or love does experience problems, we would want the best help, support and treatment available for them and their family. Its time all our politicians realised, as many voting citizens in the USA have just done, that our current drug policies and laws are not fit for purpose and cause preventable harms and intolerable human rights violations for far too many people. […]
As a police commander, I used to ask myself: was drug use really a matter of crime?
Anything that reduces the antagonism between would-be offenders and the cops is worthwhile. The latter may well then be seen as a catalyst for getting help, therefore making it a far safer situation for all. Allowing police to focus on diversion instead of arresting and charging is going to make the job of police far safer than what it is today. […]
We will save lives in regional Australia by treating drug use as a health issue, not a criminal one
When we treat drug use as a health and social issue – and this government proposal is an initial step in that direction – police will have greater resources to be tough on large-scale drug trafficking and violent crime. The proposal by the NSW government is a step in the right direction. […]
Ice commissioner warns law and order debate is holding back reform
The commissioner who led the state’s ice inquiry has warned an outdated law and order war on drugs threatens to derail critical reform and leave NSW lagging behind the rest of Australia. Dan Howard, SC, said he was concerned that a failure to grasp the concept of decriminalisation could squander the chance for reform as Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s cabinet remains split over the issue. […]
Two-thirds of Australians support pill testing at festivals: Survey
Dr Hester Wilson, Chair of the RACGP Addiction Medicine Specific Interests network, told newsGP she is not surprised by the finding that so many Australians support pill testing. ‘Because it makes sense,’ she said. ‘It’s sensible and we know that pill testing actually assists people to make safer choices.’ Dr Wilson says pill testing plays an important role in harm minimisation. […]
Pill testing support continues to rise but it remains illegal in most of Australia
The researchers call for more discussion surrounding further trials to gather evidence for the strategy’s effectiveness in harm reduction. Without pill testing trials being considered in most states apart from the ACT, let alone implemented, the researchers suggest it will remain a chicken and egg problem until then. “The objection of the states to pill testing is surprising, since the stated goal of both sides of the debate is to save lives,” the study read. […]
Nearly two-thirds of Australians support pill testing at music festivals: research
Nearly two-thirds of Australians support pill testing at music festivals, despite the majority of state and territory governments rejecting proposals to implement the practice. According to data from the 2019 Australian Election Study, a population-representative survey of 2000 Australians following last year’s federal election, 63.4 per cent of respondents said they supported the testing of illicit drugs at festivals. […]
US: Why 2020 Is a Banner Year for Drug Decriminalization—And What It Means for Public Health
These decriminalization measures also address another major roadblock for those seeking help: stigma. “The public-health-based approach of decriminalization centers human dignity and connection,” says Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, policy and advocacy director at MAPS, an organization focused on developing medical, legal, and cultural contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics, including cannabis. […]
NZ: Narrow cannabis result proves need for reform – Helen Clark
“The country is split down the middle on a particular concept of legalisation. And I think there’s every ground now for the government to be looking very carefully at this, beginning to discuss with other parties, including obviously the Green Party, on where to go from here. “What I found as one who got quite involved in the debate was a lot of people said: ‘oh we’d like to decriminalise but legalised as a step too far’. […]
Election Day was a major rejection of the war on drugs
We still don’t know with certainty who will be the next president of the United States. But this year’s election results have given us a lot more clarity on one thing: American voters, even conservative ones, are ready to reel back the US’s war on drugs. In every state where a ballot measure asked Americans to reconsider the drug war, voters sided with reformers. […]
US: Oregon decriminalizes possession of street drugs, becoming first in nation
Oregon made history Tuesday in the movement to reconsider the nation’s war on drugs by becoming the first state to decriminalize small amounts of heroin and other street drugs. Voters overwhelmingly supported Measure 110, a coup for the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, the same criminal justice reform group that backed Oregon’s successful marijuana legalization effort in 20 […]
Election 2020: Jacinda Ardern says new Government will look at allowing pill testing of illicit drugs at festivals
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her new Government is keen to allow more legal pill testing at music festivals. Her comments come after Justice Minister Andrew Little ruled out further liberalisation of drug laws following the preliminary “no” vote on the cannabis referendum. […]
Is it time for a drug policy intervention?
Currently, Australia criminalises people for having a health problem, addiction, but the country needs an alternative to this if there is to be any expectation that it can slow or reverse these trends. The need for change is upon Australians, and the three-pillar approach must become more responsive. Ultimately, the harm reduction leg of this wobbly policy-making stool must include more options, and if it does, all Australians, not just those directly affected by drugs, stand to benefit. […]
Helen Clark appointed chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has been appointed the chair of the 26-member Global Commission on Drug Policy. Clark succeeds the former President of the Swiss Confederation, Ruth Dreifuss, who has served as chair since 2016. Since its establishment in 2011, the Global Commission has advocated for evidence-informed drug policy. […]
HRA Budget Submission Media Release – 2 Sept 2020
Canberra pill testing site moves closer as ACT govt agrees to investigation
Canberra could have an Australian-first pill-testing site in Civic this summer. The government agreed to explore the idea in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The pill testing pilot in the city entertainment area would operate on weekends and be informed by expert health advice […]
There is a better approach to recreational drugs
Drug use is not a fringe activity and the current prohibition strategy is not a deterrent. Much like during the United States’ Prohibition Era from 1920 to 1933, an enormous black market responds to the high volume of demand. The current system places the police and courts in an endless and costly war against a profiting organised crime world and risks the health and lives of that one in six. […]
Pollies push pill testing for Victorian music festivals
Pill testing could be introduced at Victorian music festivals under a join proposal by The Greens and the Reason Party. If passed by Victorian Parliament, the joint bill would see the establishment of a mobile pill testing service as well as a fixed-address laboratory likely located in Melbourne. The pill testing model, which has been in use in Europe since the 1990s, allows festival patrons to have illicit drugs tested on-site by health professionals. […]
Growing support for pill testing at Aussie music festivals
A new study found that almost three in five Aussies now support pill testing at festivals. The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey was published last week (July 16) by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2020 and found 57% support it and 27% oppose it. This approval is reflected in the study’s other findings including a call for legalising cannabis doubling from 21% in 2007 to 41%. […]