The Minns government has announced Yours and Owls Festival on 1 and 2 March will be the first music festival to participate in New South Wales pill testing trial.
Illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW. The NSW government reiterates that there will always be risks involved when consuming these substances and this announcement is not an endorsement of illicit drug use.
However, the trial is designed to help people make safer choices by connecting them with qualified health staff who can provide harm reduction advice.
The free and anonymous service allows festival goers to bring a small sample of substances they intend to consume to be analysed by qualified health staff to test for purity, potency and adulterants.
The pill testing service will be staffed by peer workers, health workers and analysts who will clearly communicate the limitations of drug checking to festival goers. People will never be advised that a drug is safe to use. They’ll be advised that all drug use carries risks, and that the only way to avoid this risk is to not consume drugs.
Where needed, staff at the service can provide patrons with referral to health and welfare services available at the event or in the community.
NSW Health and NSW police are working closely with festival organisers and other stakeholders to ensure safe and effective implementation of the trial at these events.
The trial will operate alongside other harm reduction and medical services at the participating festivals.
The government says the trial will run for 12 months and will be independently evaluated. Discussions are ongoing with other festivals on their prospective participation.
The trial comes after the Government’s Drug Summit concluded in early December. The Drug Summit co-chairs provided interim advice recommending a trial of music festival-based drug testing.
Further information on the NSW Drug Checking trial can be found here.
Reducing harm
Minister for Health Ryan Park said, ‘Let me be clear, no level of illicit drug use is safe and pill testing services do not provide a guarantee of safety. There will always be risks involved when consuming these substances.
‘However, this trial has been designed to provide people with the necessary information to make more informed decisions about drug use, with the goal of reducing drug-related harm and saving lives.’
Ben Tillman from Wollongong’s Yours and Owls Festival said, ‘We enthusiastically welcome this move by the NSW government. Pill testing is something we have been fighting for, for some time now.
‘While Yours and Owls maintains a zero-tolerance policy to illegal drugs, we are realists and see the abstinence-only approach as unhelpful. Pill Testing is not a panacea. However, it is a proven harm minimisation strategy that has been successfully implemented in many countries overseas for the past twenty or so years.
‘Ultimately, we ask individuals to take responsibility for themselves and their decision-making to ensure they have a great time safely.
‘We also encourage anyone who finds themselves or their mates in trouble to seek medical assistance immediately; there will be no judgment, you won’t get into trouble, patrons need to remember their safety and that of their mates is the most important thing.’
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