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Pill testing bill introduced in Victoria
The Victorian government has presented a bill to the State Parliament to enable fixed and mobile pill testing at festivals and other events to enhance public safety and reduce the potential harm associated with illicit substance use.
Grace Robbie
This week, the Allan Labor government introduced an amendment bill to Parliament to authorise the implementation of pill testing services at festivals and events, with the aim of commencing this initiative during the upcoming summer festival season.
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The proposed bill, Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendments (Pill Testing Bill 2024), seeks to authorise both fixed and mobile pill testing services to operate across the state.
The Victorian government emphasised that the enactment of legislation addressing drug control is “needed now more than ever” in light of the global drug market “becoming more dangerous”.
The state government stressed that permitting pill testing to occur at festivals and events is a proactive measure aimed at “saving lives and changing people’s behaviour by giving them access to the health and safety information they are asking for”.
The initiative has already been effectively implemented in Canberra and Queensland.
Under the proposed legislation, all involved parties, “including festival operators, pill testing operators, and their clients”, will be “legally protected” to ensure that these testing services can be operated and utilised without violating any laws.
It further said: “This follows close, ongoing collaboration with Victoria Police – ensuring the right balance between holding drug dealers to account, while not deterring people from using the service.”
The Allan government noted that if this bill gets passed, there will be “no changes to police powers outside the service – possession and supply of illicit drugs remain the same – and all new guidelines and operational policies for officers will be clearly communicated before the trial starts.”
During Victoria’s summer festival season, the mobile pill testing initiative is scheduled to be implemented. This will occur at 10 scheduled music festivals and events across the state as part of the trial period.
The state government declared how “this will also make way for a fixed site to be established and open by mid-2025, in inner Melbourne, close to nightlife and public transport, so more Victorians can easily access these life-saving services”.
The drug analysis technology offered by these services is capable of analysing the compositions of “most pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquids and identify harmful chemicals that can lead to death”.
The Victorian government said: “This is an implementation trial to see what model works best in Victoria because there’s plenty of evidence that pill testing saves lives, and data obtained through the trial will help better inform public health responses and campaigns.”
Ingrid Stitt, the Minister for Mental Health, said: “No drug is ever truly safe, but people deserve to know if that one pill will kill – these changes don’t make drugs legal, but they will allow us to offer a service that will help keep Victorians safe.”
“This is a common sense approach – the evidence is clear [that] pill testing reduces harm and saves lives, and we have acted swiftly since announcing our plans to have services ready for the next festival season,” Minister Stitt said.
