In a landmark decision the ACT Government has allowed a pill testing service to operate at Canberra’s Spilt Milk festival this November. This service is the first of its kind to ever occur in Australia. It is groundbreaking. By allowing it to happen, Chief Minister Andrew Barr and the ACT Government have elevated Australia to a small list of mainly European countries, some of…

The ACT government has made a courageous decision to proceed with a pill testing trial at a music festival in the territory. While the nation’s capital is thought of as one of the more progressive jurisdictions in the country it is still nonetheless a big step to green light such a proposal. […]

Pill Testing Media Release – Sept 2017 […]

‘Heroin overdoses are predominantly a health issue that commonly cause death and leave our members and other emergency service workers frequently picking up the pieces when lives are tragically lost,’ union secretary Wayne Gatt said on Monday. The union said a trial for safe injecting rooms – like the one at Sydney’s Kings Cross – would not affect police operations. […]

Mr Porter’s claim is wishful thinking. Of six reports put forward by Mr Porter’s office in defence of his claim, only two specifically relate to drug testing of welfare recipients and both strongly reject it as a viable strategy. The other four relate to the drug treatment of offenders in the criminal justice system.  […]

McGorry is the latest prominent Australian to voice his concern about the measure, which will see 5,000 welfare recipients drug tested at three trial locations. He has warned the policy fails to understand the intersection between mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction. The consequence will be to drive vulnerable Australians with a mental health issue away from the welfare system,…

If someone is addicted to drugs and you take away their ability to spend money on drugs, will they stop using?No, they will find other criminal ways to score, break and enters or dealing drugs. That’s why I’m naming this bill “desperate measures”, because that’s what it will induce in our community. […]

The many people who died from preventable heroin overdoses were members of a Melbourne community – and their lives mattered. We can choose to be the kind of community that supports each other when people are struggling and need help. Now we need to make sure that establishing a medically supervised injection centre in North Richmond remains a priority, and becomes…

The personal cost and harm of this policy is much more obvious than the love. We know that risky alcohol and drug use are closely linked to living in remote and disadvantaged areas. Being marginalised and disadvantaged leads to increased drug and alcohol use, not the other way around. Targeting already marginalised people in this blunt way will only increase disadvantage…

Harm Reduction Australia executive officer Greg Denham said a safe injecting room would not only save lives but would also improve the amenity of the area around North Richmond. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Cameron Loy said injecting drugs was a health issue. He said North Richmond Community Health Centre dealt with one fifth of drug overdoses in the state.…