Among a list of 26 recommendations, Ms Grahame called for NSW Health to hold a drug summit hearing from experts in addiction, drug law reform and law enforcement, as well as current and former drug users, to develop policy that is “evidence-based and human rights based” and focusing on harm minimisation. […]

“Drug criminalization fuels the United States’ dual crises of mass criminalization & overdose deaths,” said Widney Brown, DPA’s Managing Director of Policy. “The Portuguese experience demonstrates that decriminalizing drugs – alongside a serious investment in treatment and harm reduction services – can significantly improve public safety and health.” […]

Pill testing trial for Groovin the Moo given go-ahead after spate of festival deaths – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Festival-goers will again be able to get their illicit drugs checked for dangerous substances at this year’s Groovin the Moo music festival in Canberra, after the ACT Government signed off on a trial being held inside the festival gates. […]

Organisers of the rally want the government to form a roundtable to review the new rules impacting live music and to work with festival organisers to develop a transparent standard for policing and medical services. “We are for a solution that is proactive in the minimisation of harm. Not in the introduction of a poorly thought through method of regulation,…

As Mountain Sounds becomes the second victim of these regulations in the last week, it seems increasingly suspicious that forcing festivals to close down due to unrealistic costs is the Government’s way of preventing drug deaths. People are now calling this “The War on Festivals” and Sydney’s lock out laws are an example of how well-intended but out of touch…

City of Sydney councillors have backed calls for an urgent NSW drug summit and supported a pill-testing demonstration in a bid to drive down the number of young people dying at music festivals. Five young people have died from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in Australia since September, reigniting heated debate over whether pill-testing should be trialled at the events.…

Whether motivated by self-centred pragmatism or ideological purity, the price that the community, families and individuals are paying for the opposition to pill testing is too high. Politicians must understand that human lives are not something to be traded away for the sake of keeping party members happy (and donating) or to defend a narrow ideal of what is acceptable…

Event organisers couldn’t publicly state drug-testing kits were available at their venues because the Misuse of Drugs Act made it illegal to knowingly permit drug use at any premises. “Until the law changes we have to be discreet about where we are going.” […]

“We make our harm-minimisation policies based on evidence, not the personal experiences of ministers,” Ms Fitzharris said. “The ACT government supports trialling pill testing because the evidence and expert advice tells us that it can help young people make better and more informed decisions at music festivals.” […]

Mr Rattenbury said his experience made him aware of the reality for young people, and that everyone had done risky things at some point in their life. But Mr Rattenbury said he could “guarantee” that no one in pill testing tents would encourage young people to take drugs and that he wished there was more information available when he tried…