We do not believe that pill-testing is the only answer. But it is a crucial part of a broader harm reduction strategy that prioritises people’s health and safety, over criminality or laws. Encouraging drug abstinence instead of education is out-of-touch, proven to be ineffective and unnecessarily risking lives. Young people deserve better. […]

The issue of evidence, as Dr Wodak and others have been at some pains to point out, can easily be addressed by asking the relevant authorities to review the outcomes of pill testing trials in countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, as well as in the ACT. This could be followed by a tightly controlled trial of pill-testing…

Tony Trimingham’s son Damien also fell victim to a fatal overdose – but his view on pill-testing could not be more opposed to Mr Wood’s. He said he believed anything to make people think twice had to be worth trying. “We’ve got to introduce it, it’s a way of saving lives,” he said. […]

Young people are being told they are not making safe decisions, yet they are denied the information upon which to base these decisions. If giving knowledge is a gift, denying it amounts to a refusal of that person’s humanity. […]

A leading Queensland civil libertarian has poured cold water on a warning that pill testing could be a legal liability minefield. Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers has entered the pill testing debate saying pill testers could be charged if a person dies from a drug that had been given the OK by a tester. […]

“We’ve been getting calls from promoters all around the country wanting us to do pill testing, there’s been a change in momentum,” Mr Vumbaca said. “They do a hell of a lot of work in maintaining patron safety and protecting the health of patrons. While program like ours is not a silver bullet, it’s part of a suite of measures…

In the absence of a better system, most of us just turn to past experiences and word of mouth as a safety net, which is exactly why we need pill-testing. Pill-testing isn’t going to save the man chewing his face off taking eight caps on a 35 degree day. But it will save the guy just having one because all…

This week on The Drum on ABC TV, I asked advocate for drug reform, Alex Wodak, if he thought the political will would ever come for pill testing at music festivals. He replied: “Harm reduction debates almost always end up with harm reduction winning in the end, but it’s often a big struggle to get there.” […]

Working in healthcare I know the tragic consequences recreational drugs can have. We have a collective moral responsibility to protect people from this, but we are failing. Our young people are being killed with increasing frequency, but we refuse to change policy. They say stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results – are we displaying our stupidity,…

“The benefits of pill testing go beyond being able to determine what the chemical make-up of a drug is and providing this level of information,” Ms Lucas said. “When a person has their drug tested at a pill testing tent, they are actively engaged with a health professional to talk about their drug use.” […]