The traction drug checking is gaining in Australia reflects local and international evidence showing these services reduce harm for people who use illicit drugs.
Articles on Drug checking
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The good news is most teenagers don’t use illicit drugs, and the majority of those who do only do so occasionally and don’t come to serious harm.
Drug checking services could also provide an early warning system to flag any unusually dangerous substances in circulation.
Most consumables in Canada have quality controls that inform purchasing and consumption decisions. People who use illicit drugs deserve the same. Drug checking provides that harm-reduction service.
Pill testing has faced a setback in Australia with insurers withdrawing insurance from Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra.
The Drug and Substance Checking Bill currently moving through parliament marks another milestone in New Zealand’s shift away from criminalisation and towards harm reduction.
There are arguments against pill testing. But none are as compelling or evidence-based as the arguments for it.
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said conducting on-site drug tests at public events “safely and quickly is not really a practical option”. But the technology is available.
If people are going to take drugs, wouldn’t it be better if they knew what was in them?
Not only are our drug policies not working, we’re falling behind the rest of the world and what evidence says is best to ensure we have fewer deaths from illicit drugs.
Testing drugs at music festivals not only means we can assess whether they contain anything unexpected, but it’s an opportunity to try to change the behaviour of users.
Top contributors
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Research assistant, Liverpool John Moores University
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Senior Researcher, Liverpool John Moores University
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Professor in Substance Use, Liverpool John Moores University
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Honorary Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Medicine, Monash University
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Professor, Chemistry, University of Victoria
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Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University; UNSW
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Associate Professor, National Drug Research Institute / enAble Institute, Curtin University
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Professor, School of Social Work, University of Victoria
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Master of Arts student, Social Dimensions of Health Program, University of Victoria
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Professor of Law, University of Waikato