Australia has gone from being among the international leaders in drug policy to becoming something of a laggard. Even if the recommendations of this inquiry are rejected now, they will inevitably in large part be accepted at some time in the future. Many other countries are now moving in that direction. […]

Dr Morgan and Professor Jones dismissed “common arguments” against pill testing including “complaints from policy makers about lack of proven efficacy of harm reduction from pill testing; an overall feeling that pill testing condones drug use; and the fear that dealers will use pill testing results to promote their brand”. “All of these arguments can be addressed by a well-designed…

The state’s former top prosecutor has urged the Berejiklian government to decriminalise the use and possession of illicit drugs in NSW as the “first step” towards full legalisation, as the Premier maintains her opposition to overhauling drug policy to allow a pill testing trial. Nicholas Cowdery, QC, who was Director of Public Prosecutions in NSW for 16 years, said “any…

Dr Wodak said the question should not be “is pill-testing perfect?” but “is pill-testing better than no pill-testing? In public health and harm reduction it’s important to ‘never let the best be the enemy of the good’. In other words, we shouldn’t oppose pill-testing because it won’t stop every death, as long as it saves some lives,” he said. […]

Evidence suggests that zero tolerance policies do not work and pill‐testing provides a useful tool for both direct harm reduction through the identification of dangerous illicit drugs containing new psychoactive substances or unusual dosages, as well as indirect harm reduction through the increased education of a hard‐to‐reach group of drug users. […]

The personal use of ice and other illicit drugs would be decriminalised in NSW under a public health-focused drug policy backed by lawyers assisting the special commission of inquiry into ice. Under the potential recommendations of the inquiry, pill testing would also be trialled and the use of medically supervised drug consumption rooms would be expanded in NSW. […]

To refute the benefits of harm minimisation in terms of pill testing is not just dangerously irresponsible, it is quite frankly, embarrassing.  Premier Gladys Berejiklian is clearly putting politics before the lives of (mostly) young Australians by blocking pill testing.  Let alone ignoring the recommendations of the Deputy Coroner.  This is irrefutable.  […]

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr defended the laws that come into effect on January 31, 2020, saying the supply and traffic of cannabis will remain illegal and the UN should turn its attention elsewhere. “Canada, Colorado and California have cannabis legalisation laws that are much more expansive than the laws passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly last month,” Mr Barr said.…

Ms Buccianti is imploring every state and territory to follow the ACT’s lead, with the firm belief that pill testing would have saved her son’s life. “I believe that if a pill testing service had been available, he would still be alive,” she said. “He was naive to think that the acid he took was the same stuff he had taken…

It bears repeating in this context that MSIR alone safely managed 1232 overdoses in its first year. This gives us a sense of just one of the ways the service is making a vital contribution to the Australian community. Unfortunately, critical reactions such as those we have seen this past week can introduce new problems and risks, and may risk…