-
The ice pipeline
Australia is one of the most lucrative markets in the world for methamphetamines. In the year to August 2023, the country smoked, snorted and shot up about 10 and a half tonnes of the stuff — a 17 per cent increase on the year before, and more than double the amount of cocaine. […]
-
Hundreds of marijuana supporters attend picnic rally, 36 arrested at Melbourne park
At least 36 people were arrested at an annual pro-cannabis picnic at Melbourne’s Flagstaff Gardens. The rally in the city’s CBD aims to raise awareness for the legalisation of cannabis, and occurs annually on April 20 or 4/20. Recreational use of which is banned in all Australian states. […]
-
Is Australia winning ‘the war on drugs’?
Some experts, like Professor Jennifer Schumann from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, want to see pill testing introduced more widely, especially at music festival venues where there’s been a recent spate of fatal overdoses. […]
-
QLD – State first success
Managed by Pill Testing Australia, the event-based service at the festival drew in 257 festival-goers over the course of four days, offering crucial information about the substances they intended to consume. Pill Testing Australia medical lead David Caldicott hailed the festival a success and estimated drug samples from close to 10 percent of festival goers were tested by the service.…
-
Queensland’s first festival pill-testing service finds ‘Canberra ketamine’ sold as MDMA
The Pill Testing Australia clinical lead David Caldicott said it was hard to know if the clinic saved lives in 2024, but pointed to the lack of a need for paramedics as a win for safety. […]
-
Media Release – first drug checking at a multi-day festival: Pill Testing Australia at Rabbits Eat Lettuce QLD
“The success of QLD’s first pill testing service at the multi-day festival Rabbits Eat Lettuce (REL) would not have been possible without the leadership team”, comprising of Professor Malcolm McLeod (Chemistry Lead), Dr David Caldicott (Medical Lead) and Dr Penny Hill (Data Officer), said PTA’s Executive Officer Steph Tzanetis, who was the onsite Service Manager. […]
-
Media Release from the Honourable Shannon Fentiman – QLD Minister for Health
Pill testing results show service’s importance to health and safety. […]
-
7NEWS takes you inside Queensland’s first illicit drug testing tent
PTA runs Qld’s first ever pill testing service. […]
-
Rabbits Eat Lettuce is the first multi-day festival in Australia to have pill testing. How will it work?
Five thousand partygoers will have the opportunity to get their illicit drugs tested for purity at the iconic “bush doof” Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival that begins on Thursday on Queensland’s Southern Downs. Pill Testing Australia’s David Caldicott says drug behaviours change depending on how long the party goes for. […]
-
Queensland to introduce pill testing at Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival, where two people died in 2019
Pill Testing Australia executive officer Stephanie Tzanetis said drug checking was “very much something that the community wants”. She said Pill Testing Australia was excited to begin expanding more testing sites across music festivals. […]
