NSW to trial pill testing

New South Wales will become the fourth jurisdiction in Australia to trial pill testing in a bid to reduce the associated harms of illicit drug use at music festivals.
 
The decision was announced on Thursday after interim advice was handed down to the State Government, following a recent Drug Summit.
 
The trial, which will take place over 12 months, will commence in early 2025.
 
Staffed by qualified health professionals, festival goers will be able to have a sample of any substances they plan to consume tested for purity, potency and any adulterants present.
 
The trial service, which will cost around $1 million to rollout, will be free to access and on an anonymous basis. 
 
Dr Hester Wilson, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Addiction Medicine, welcomed the decision, describing it as ‘brilliant and long overdue’.
 
‘This is a group of people who are not in contact with services around drug use because, from their point of view, they don’t have a problem,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘To have a safe option where people can go and get their pills tested, it’s an opportunity to have a healthcare worker interaction and, if it becomes clear that there are issues for the person, to encourage them to seek help.’
 
Pill testing has already been introduced permanently in the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, with a service also launching in Victoria on 28 December at the Beyond the Valley Festival.
 
While Dr Wilson understands states and territories wanting to conduct their own trials in a bid to uncover any specific factors to be aware of in the local context, she says the evidence on the benefits is clear.
 
‘What we know from the literature is if somebody has a substance checked and they find out that it’s not what they thought it was, or that it’s dangerous, they chuck it out,’ she said.
 
‘If they find out that it’s the substance but it’s more potent, they take less.
 
‘It’s an opportunity to give health-based information around how to look after yourself; how to make sure you don’t overheat, drinking enough water, getting enough rest, and having food.
 
‘And not only does that change their behaviour, but it also changes the behaviour, potentially, of their mates who might all have substances from the same source.’
 
Meanwhile, with festival season fast approaching, and new, highly potent opioids on the market, Dr Wilson applauded the NSW Government on acting early rather than waiting for the Drug Summit’s final report, which is not due to be finalised until next year.
 
Earlier this year the Victorian Government flagged the circulation of cocaine adulterated with protonitazene, an opioid with a potency 100 times over heroin, increasing the risk of life-threatening overdose.
 
‘There’s a whole heap of varieties,’ Dr Wilson said.
 
‘When people think they’re getting stimulants like speed or methamphetamine or MDMA or ecstasy, they’re actually getting potent opiates – and that’s in people that have no tolerance for opiates.’
 
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said while there are ‘no silver bullets’ when it comes to reducing drug related harms, the Government will be listening to the experts and the evidence to keep young people safe.
 
‘I’ve always said that we would evaluate areas for reform carefully, diligently and pragmatically – and that’s what this trial is all about,’ he said.
 
‘These are complex issues, and we will be guided by that which delivers in the best interests of the health of the community.’
 
NSW Health, which is in charge of implementing the trial, will consult with the music festival industry and harm reduction organisations to select events for inclusion. The trial, once complete, will be independently evaluated.
 
However, NSW Premier Chris Minns stressed that despite the trial, taking illicit drugs remains illegal at festivals where pill testing is available.
 
‘This trial does not change police powers, and if you commit a crime, you may be charged and prosecuted,’ he said.
 
Dr Wilson said while drugs are illegal, it is important to not turn a blind eye to the reality.
 
‘When you’re looking at the festival goers, you’re looking at people [who] are using occasionally when they go to festivals and it’s not core to their lives, they don’t have a dependence … and young people will run a mile if you’re just saying, “drugs are bad”. It doesn’t really help them,’ she said.
 
‘People use drugs – as a species we always have – and in a pragmatic approach around reducing harm, people will change their behaviour.’
 
Dr Wilson encouraged GPs in NSW, and other states where pill testing is accessible, to flag the service with patients.
 
‘Be open to conversations, ask about recreational use and point to safety like pill testing and take-home naloxone,’ she said.
 
‘We may see people who have been encouraged to seek further help with their drug use, so we need to know what we can do and where to help them access help.
 
‘The reality for us around the world, but particularly in NSW for this initiative, is people are dying at festivals, and it will save lives. So, I’m really pleased that they’ve moved on it.
 
‘It’s really very, very good news.’
 
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