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Legal advocates are pushing the Berejiklian government to implement trials for testing of illicit drugs at music festivals, saying criminal and law enforcement responses are failing.
In a letter sent to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday, Australian Lawyers Alliance called for pill testing to be introduced, saying the priority “must be to avoid deaths and minimise harm”.
“The ALA considers that punitive law enforcement approaches to this issue are not appropriate and that the government needs to consider evidence-based harm minimisation measures that prioritise the health and safety of festival goers rather than criminal and legal measures.”
“The reality is that young people will experiment with drugs and they are being needlessly exposed to death or physical and mental harm when we have the ability to decrease this risk through pill testing,” said Ngaire Watson, barrister and medical law spokesperson for the ALA.
“This is a health problem not a legal problem, and the main focus of legal strategies should be to encourage positive health outcomes.”
ALA’s stance backs that of the Royal Australian College of Physicians, which argued that pill testing within such trials should be conducted in purpose-designed facilities by appropriately qualified technical specialists and should be accompanied by advice and information to allow festival goers to make informed choices.
“These facilities also offer an opportunity for medical professionals to provide advice to young people about the risks of drug taking,” said Ms Watson.
Criminal justice spokesperson for the ALA Greg Barns added that government and festival organisers have a duty to ensure a safe environment for patrons.
“Simply saying no to drugs does not work and the government should listen to health experts, not police, on this issue. The ACT pill testing exercise last year was very successful and, of course, in Europe they allow testing,” he said.
“At every festival police use sniffer dogs and make arrests. Young people then are shunted through the court system. This approach does not reduce demand for drugs and does not recognise the reality of drug use at music festivals.”
Addressing Ms Berejiklian, ALA wrote that it “strongly encourages your government, if re-elected, to commit to the implementation of a carefully designed pill testing trial, similar to what has been implemented in the ACT.”
Elsewhere, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights said it supports a human rights-based approach to drug laws and policies.
"We urge the NSW Government to listen to and act on the advice of expert organisations such as Harm Reduction International. Laws and policies relating to illicit drugs must have harm reduction as their central focus and should aim to minimise the negative health and legal impacts associated with drug use," said ALHR president Kerry Weste.
"Harm reduction also necessarily involves including initiatives such as drug consumption rooms, needle and syringe programmes and drug checking as part of a holistic approach to drug policy. Approaches such as these are cost-effective, evidence-based and have a positive impact on individual and community health."
New president of the Law Society of NSW, Elizabeth Espinosa, took a similar approach. In a statement to Lawyers Weekly, she said "any death occasioned by illicit drugs is one too many", and that there are "no simple fixes" to what is a very difficult and complex issue.
“We should continue to discuss the best policy settings to address illicit drug use in the community. We welcome the input of public health experts in any debate around pill testing, or other harm reduction measures," she said.
“If a model emerges, we stand ready to consult on the legal issues that might arise, including the complex issues of liability. Most of the debate around pill testing revolves around public health issues and the efficacy of testing, both literally in terms of whether the tests themselves are fast and accurate enough, and more generally as to what impact testing being present has on drug use by members of the community.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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Jerome Doraisamy
