Opinion: Canberra the Capital of Pill Testing

Posted on 6 August, 2019

As a mother of two young adults who are regular festival-goers, Philippa Moss says it’s time to get real and support the need for drug law reform.

Festivals celebrate a number of the values I live by; embrace the unusual, celebrate diversity, support unique and creative outlets, and encourage dance where ever you can.

Festivals also help to create new norms, encourage outward thinking, embrace unique styles and provide an opportunity to dance in a mosh pit at 10 am.

As a mother of two young adults who are regular festival-goers, I’m gratified by supporting them to participate in open-minded, non-judgmental events renowned for encouraging individuals to express themselves freely, be who they want, wear what they want and to move the way the music makes them feel.

This is my 21-year-old daughter at Spilt Milk festival in 2017, feeling a part of something bigger than herself, expressing herself and enjoying the wonderful experiences this festival has to offer.

Substance use is also another norm that goes hand in hand with these events. However, one of the unfortunate outcomes of this particular aspect of festivals has been the tragic deaths of a number of young patrons.

So it’s time to get real, people— this issue has reached tipping point and it is essential that all of us recognise and support the need for drug law reform.

Yes, I worry about the use of drugs; specifically troubling is the practice of ‘gunning’ one’s stash at the gates when festival-goers spot police and their dogs, or pre-planning how to smuggle drugs in to avoid detection such as ‘shafting’ one’s stash.

Additionally, there is abundant evidence confirming the trauma and negative impacts of current drug enforcement policies.

The International Journal of Drug Policy (volume 67, May 2019) highlights the negative effects of drug detection dogs which don’t deter substance use but compel people to take substances faster, earlier and in higher quantities, ‘shafting’ them or buying unknown and untrusted substances once inside the festival due to fear. Many studies have demonstrated that the current methods of strip and dog searches incite public humiliation which in turn, has both short and long-term mental health impacts.

Let’s not be naive about the world we live in—young people are going to experiment and push the boundaries, just like many of us did. Wouldn’t you rather protect and maximise safety for our young people rather than be morally outraged every time we hear about another death at a music festival?

We all want to keep our children safe and in order to achieve this harm reduction needs to be the way forward. Accordingly, Canberra hosting the first pill testing trial has led to unprecedented public and political attention and debate.

The benefits of harm reduction via pill testing at festivals are clear. Deployable pill testing technology has the capacity to detect, with substantial accuracy, harmful ingredients which can have fatal consequences if ingested.  Providing an opportunity to test a discretely purchased concoction can save a young person planning on a happy high from accidentally imbibing a deadly paint stripper combo.

Yet pill testing is not condoning nor encouraging drug use. In fact, evidence has indicated that people are not consuming substances due to the pill testing facilities, however, these facilities are educating people on the effects of substances and in turn, saving lives.

Testing at festivals provides an opportunity for health workers to engage with and assist punters to make informed decisions on drug consumption and potential health outcomes. The captured audience also provides a unique opportunity to engage in other health promotion campaigns, messages and value-add marketing.  Beyond this, testing pills enables law enforcement agencies to secure intelligence about the distribution of new substances and their origin.  Surely these outcomes are good for everyone?

So what exactly is the problem? Well, the major argument against rolling out pill testing at festivals seems to be the possibility that the measures taken cannot guarantee the safety of drug users.

Though, conversely, intense policing and publicity campaigns have not excluded pills from music festivals and have in fact heightened the risk of harm as panicked festival-goers ingest their drugs all at once. Essentially the case for pill testing is borne out of evidence demonstrating that these interventions do reduce the risk of serious harm or death.

As such, I strongly urge you to consider the evidence at hand and the needless deaths that could have been prevented by the implementation of a cost-effective harm reduction policy to keep people safe.

One death is too many. Ongoing support for this approach will contribute to ensuring Canberra continues to be a leader in harm reduction policy reform.