Pill testing will be permanent in Victoria following an 18-month trial to decide how best to offer the free drug checks to users. From this summer, mobile pill testing teams will visit 10 festivals and events to run pill testing. By mid-2025, the state will also set up a fixed site in the inner city where users will be able to have their drugs checked. The government says the “implementation” trial will cost about $4 million. Premier Jacinta Allan said it was not a green light to illicit drug use but addressed drug use in the community — the government says it is a health response to a problem. She said testing was an important intervention. “We know the evidence tells us they are less likely to consume that drug, so why wouldn’t we use that health-based approach, that evidence-based approach, because if it has the potential to save just one life it has absolutely been worth it,” she said. The government has previously made a stance against the introduction of pill testing but Ms Allan said being a mother herself combined with the evidence from overseas has convinced her otherwise. She said drug overdoses were a growing issue in the community. “Victorian paramedics responded to more drug overdoses at music festivals in just three months this year than they did for the entirety of 2023,” she said. “We need to accept the evidence and the reality.” New drugs detected and overdoses increase According to the government, pill testing has been introduced across 31 countries globally, including the United Kingdom, parts of Europe, North America and New Zealand. Canberra became the first Australian territory to roll out a drug-checking program that has since been introduced in Queensland. A pilot program was also rolled out across New South Wales earlier this year. Victorian Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said Australia’s drug market was increasingly volatile and dangerous. “We’ve seen drug overdoses increase by 61 per cent since 2010,” she said. “We have detected more than 1,000 new drugs in the past decade and we’re seeing more and more dangerous synthetics. “This is really important in terms of reducing drug harm in our community. It will help people make safer and more informed decisions about their drug use and it will also reduce pressure on our health system and unnecessary burdens on our health and emergency service personnel.” The technology that will be used has the ability to test powders, pills and liquid but Ms Stitt said cannabis and mushrooms were among the substances that would not be able to be tested. An expert in alcohol and drug policy, John Fitzgerald, said there were a range of technologies. “The expectation is not one technology but technology that is fit for purpose,” the University of Melbourne professor said. He said the mobile testing kits could generate a confirmatory result in about seven minutes. Calls for an understanding from authorities Libertarian David Limberick welcomed the announcement but raised concerns about the funding model. “If someone’s got money to buy expensive festival tickets and expensive drugs, why should taxpayers be picking up the tab on quality control? I think that seems wrong,” he said. Greens MP Aiv Puglielli acknowledged the differing views on funding but said it was “important we treat this as the health issue that it is”. He said amnesty was important and that there was an understanding from authorities that people were coming forward in good faith. “They do not want to be judged,” he said. “It’s crucial that health information can be provided without fear of punishment.” He said there had been several occasions where festivalgoers had consumed all of their drugs at once after seeing sniffer dogs, out of fear they would be punished. “What we have seen, the tough on drugs, war on drugs, sniffer dogs, those sorts of PR stunts that we have seen from authorities historically on this issue lead to more harm than good,” he said. Deputy chief executive of Cohealth Chris Turner agreed that non-judgement was important. “These services are about creating a non-judgemental space in which people can get access to information which supports them to make better choices,” he said. The government said it would undertake consultation with festival organisers and other agencies like Victoria Police going forward.
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