Pill testing to resume at NSW music festivals

Pill testing will become a permanent feature at selected music festivals across NSW, the state government announced on Wednesday.

Drug checks will resume in October after being trialled last year, where unexpected substances were found in 8 per cent of samples.

The 12-month trial involving 1800 people, led by the University of Sydney, found testing was effective in reducing risks and harms from illicit drug use for festival goers.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park says there will always be risks involved when consuming these substances and the announcement is not an endorsement of illicit drug use.

“Let me be clear, no level of illicit drug use is safe and drug checking services are not a silver bullet,” he said.

“There will always be risks involved when consuming these substances, and this initiative does not endorse drug use.

“Drug checking at music festivals can reduce harms associated with drug use, and it ultimately saves lives.”

NSW Health will now consult the music festival industry and harm reduction organisations to identify up to 15 music festivals every year to participate in the program.

They will be selected on the probability of drug harm, including the type and size of the festival, plus location.

Amnesty bins will be available at the events for festival goers to safely dispose of their drugs if they wish to.

The campaign for pill testing during the past decade stems from the deaths of at least 10 young people who died from drug overdoses at festivals, triggering calls for reforms by their families.

They include NSW Central Coast woman Jennie Ross-King whose daughter whose teenage daughter Alex died after consuming MDMA before a music festival in January 2019.

On Wednesday, she backed the government’s move to extend pill testing.

“The enormity of reaching this point is not lost on me. This journey began with the most devastating loss imaginable, the death of my beautiful daughter, Alex, and has continued through more than seven years of grief, advocacy and repeatedly telling her story in the hope that someone would listen,” she said.

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“Young people take risks, that is the reality of life, but they do not deserve to die because of one decision. 

“This will go a long way towards giving young people the information they need to make safer choices and, ultimately, ensuring they come home safely to the people who love them.”