At the same time that NSW Health is warning of highly dangerous substances in circulation, the Greens say people across the state will be denied access to potentially life-saving drug-checking services, after their Pill Testing Trial Bill was voted down by government, opposition, and a handful of crossbench members in the NSW Upper House yesterday.
‘The hopes of establishing a pill testing trial in this state before this summer’s festival season were shut down by the Labor Government today and that is hugely disappointing,’ said Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and drug law reform and harm reduction spokesperson.
‘This was an opportunity for all sides of politics to come together to support a critical harm reduction measure that has been recommended by experts for years. Instead, we’ve got more delays and inaction putting more lives at risk.
‘Labor has said it wants to wait until the drug summit before allowing pill testing or even discussing many other drug harm reduction measures. That means lives will be put unnecessarily at risk due to a lack of direction and leadership from a government paralysed by its obsession with shock jock opinions,’ she said.
‘With Labor voting against getting a trial of pill testing in place before the summer, it’s going to be at least six months, probably more, before any recommendations arising from December’s drug summit are even implemented.’
Frustrating
‘It was particularly frustrating to hear government members admit that drug checking is a strategy that minimises drug harm, yet then vote against the bill that actually brings it in,’ said Ms Faehrmann.
‘We’ve already had both the Deputy Coroner and the Ice Inquiry Commissioner strongly recommend drug checking to better inform people about the drugs they intend to take and to alert them of any dangers in what they intend to consume.
‘The evidence is well and truly in that pill testing works and pill testing saves lives,’ she said
‘The Premier seems to only be able to kick the can down the road instead of doing what his counterparts in the ACT, Qld and Victoria have done and act on the evidence that says drug checking saves lives and just get on with it.’
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