NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller slams pill testing recommendation

The head of the NSW Police has declared that the force does not support pill testing, despite recommendations from the coroner that it should be trialled at music festivals.

On Friday Deputy NSW Coroner Harriet Grahame recommended pill testing among 28 recommendations after a lengthy inquest into six MDMA-related deaths at NSW music festivals.

Ms Grahame said medically supervised drug checking wasn't a magic solution, but she was in "no doubt whatsoever" there was sufficient evidence to support a trial.

Today, NSW Commissioner Mick Fuller has come out swinging, saying he does not support pill testing in any form, calling it flawed and unreliable.

"I'm gravely concerned about the message that pill testing sends to young people about the consumption of illegal substances," he said,

"Pill testing provides a false confidence to an individual that the drug they want to take is safe. There is no such thing. All illegal substances carry the risk of harming, or ultimately killing, the user."

The commissioner cited evidence from NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant that most of the harm from taking illicit substances did not come from contaminants.

"Most of the harm occurs from drugs people intended to purchase. Pill testing will not reduce this harm," Mr Fuller said.

"At present, the technology does not allow for adequate identification of dose levels or small traces of highly toxic substances."

The testing method is also an inaccurate reflection of the entire composition of the pill, he added.

"These are some of the critical flaws in proposals to test pills at dance parties and music festivals and as such, any such proposal will not be supported by me."

Mr Fuller said NSW Police remained committed to reducing harm by targeting supply networks and organised crime and through supporting harm minimisation strategies including education.

His comments come after the NSW cross-party harm minimisation group held a press conference, calling on the state government to implement the coroner's recommendations.

"Business as usual when it comes to drug law in NSW continues to fail young people and their families," MP Alex Greenwich said this morning.