Pill testing will be given its second-ever trial at this weekend’s Groovin The Moo festival in Canberra. The green light for testing was given by the ACT Government to the regional touring event — the same festival which hosted the first trial. […]

While thousands of music lovers will descend on Exhibition Park on Sunday for the Canberra leg of Groovin the Moo, the eyes of the nation will be on the festival for a different reason. Doctors, chemists and counsellors will be on site carrying out the second legal pill testing trial in Australia, the results of which could help change drug…

The second pill-testing trial in Australia will go ahead at a Canberra music festival this weekend. Organisers of Groovin The Moo Festival have given party¬goers the green light to test their drugs on Sunday, a move supported by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr. The trial will be run by Pill Testing Australia, which has covered the cost of indemnity insurance…

“Despite our best endeavours over many years, drugs are as readily available now as they have ever been,” former Commissioner Palmer wrote in a submission to the inquiry. “The market is totally unregulated and controlled by organised crime figures and drug trafficking criminals who make huge profits, pay no tax and who follow no rules other than their own. […]

Australian Medical Association NSW president Kean-Seng Lim said evidence from other countries showed there was “good reason to support a trial of pill testing with appropriate evaluation”. “Pill testing is not a question of just telling someone a pill is safe or not safe, but using it as an engagement opportunity to provide further advice, education and support,” Dr Lim…

As it prepares for its second pill-testing initiative at Groovin’ The Moo in Canberra this weekend, Pill Testing Australia has launched a fundraising campaign on its website. The initial target is $100,000, to buy a couple of schmick pieces of tech to do the testing (ALPHA II FTIR spectrophotometers), assist with logistics, resources and volunteer travel. […]

“The support from the medical and scientific community for pill testing is pretty much unanimous, no matter what some Australian politicians would have you believe. Over a dozen professional medical bodies, medical, nursing, paramedical and pharmaceutical now stand with us and 20 years of global data shows that shows pill testing reduces drug consumption and reduces harm.” […]

Queensland’s independent body for drugs and ­alcohol has warned that lives could be at risk if the State Government prolongs the rollout of a pill-testing trial. Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies chief executive officer Rebecca Lang said pill-testing had the potential to reduce such tragedies. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t dive in and help young people,”…

Instead of trying to stop young people taking drugs, which hasn’t been working very well, Professor Rapee suggests parents, the police and lawmakers try to minimise harm – a major argument for festival pill testing. “A large proportion of overseas trials of pill testing have shown that when you have someone standing in front of you, and especially someone in…

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will consider the outcomes of the ACT pill testing trial and Health Committee chairman Aaron Harper will travel to the ACT to investigate. When asked whether Mr Harper would look at harm-reduction measures rather than tougher enforcement, Ms Palaszczuk said both responses were being considered. […]